Dark Oceans
by fairtradecocoabeans
Summary: Annabeths hand in marriage was to a boy every princess dreamed of. But complications arise as a certain green eyed warrior enters her life, turning everything upside down - until there's no one she can trust...not even him. Set in a fantasy world of elves and dragons etcetera etcetera...(No Gods)
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The raven haired three year old frowned at the pile of sticks before him. He concentrated for the fourth time.

_Fire _he thought harshly, imagining the sticks erupting in flames.

Nothing happened. Frustration rose up into his throat and he channelled all of his energy into the spell. _Fire, fire, fire._

The smallest flickering flame burst into light in the middle of the heap. A wide smile stretched across his chubby face. _Yes!_

The flames spread throughout the pile and lit the dark cave up into a warm light. There were small beads of sweat on his brow from using so much energy.

His eyes shut slowly as he curled up on the dry rocky ground. The fire kept burning until it ran out of fuel, but by that time, the small boy was already asleep. The moonlight streamed in through the cave entrance casting a silver light on the boy.

A gentle gust of wind blew into the cave entrance and softly blew back the child's dark locks, revealing elegantly pointed ears.

**AN: I'll be posting mostly every week - chapters won't be too long! Thanks for reading and review! Btw the chapters are going to be longer than this - my prologues are always short...**


	2. Statues

_7 years later_

"Thalia? Listen to me when I am talking to you."

Thalia rolled her eyes and casually leaned back in her seat; in the typical trouble make way. Her tutor looked at her with disapproval through his grey bushy eyebrows – which were abnormally large - although suited him perfectly.

"Care to explain what I have just been talking about for the last ten minutes?" He pressed on.

Thalia considered. "Nah."

Next to her Annabeth's hand shot straight up.

"Yes, Annabeth," he sighed.

"The punishments and tortures of the modern day era. Basically what happens when elves disobey the law and break the peace of the kingdom," that probably took about three seconds for Annabeth to say in Thalia's opinion. Always a smartass.

"Yes, thank you Annabeth – did you get any of that Thalia?"

"No," oh, how she loved being difficult. "Annabeth spoke too fast."

Mr Brunner pushed back his greying hair in frustration. "Just make sure you're paying attention – so where was I..."

Thalia faked a yawn.

"...limits of boundaries are trespassed the user will be..."

She sneaked a glance at Annabeth, who was doing her usual 'intently focused' act. Though in this case it wasn't an act. How she wanted to sit in a class and learn things was beyond her imagination. Thalia was looking forward to reaching sixteen then she wouldn't have to take these stupidly boring lessons anymore.

"...without magic the body cannot function, every elf..."

Thalia stared at the clock. Ten past one. Great. 50 more minutes in torture. It wasn't that she didn't like Mr Brunner; she just hated sitting still for so long. Especially when she was being forced to _learn _things. Eww. The only other student with her was Annabeth. Her best friend...probably the smartest girl in the history of forever. How Annabeth could find these lessons interesting – Thalia would never know.

"...thus turning them to stone."

Mr Brunner finished his paragraph and his awful diagram on the chalk board.

"So, Thalia, my dear – explain one example of a punishment us elves use."

"Tying annoying tutors to trees and shooting them with arrows?"

Mr Brunner pursed his lips. Annabeth cast a glance at Thalia.

"No, and I would rather you not to talk like that in my lessons. Annabeth?"

"Stripping the magic from an elf can turn him or her completely to stone. Unlike humans elves cannot die – they are forever immortal this is only way to come closest to death, since elves bodies cannot survive without magic."

Thalia wondered just how she could recite that off the top of her head.

"Excellent, Annabeth – now if you would both follow me..."

Mr Brunner led the way out of the stuffy room and into the cool refreshing corridor. The ceiling went high above her head and was decorated with pictures drawn by the best artists the king could afford.

Annabeth strolled out gracefully, her feet hardly making a sound on the polished marble floor. Unlike Thalia who definitely wasn't a princess and let her boots make as much noise as they pleased. She honestly didn't care of what anyone thought of her, she inherited it from her father.

Mr Brunner led them through a maze of corridors and rooms and finally into the breathtakingly beautiful grand hall. Two sentries stood at the door, their expressions unreadable as they uncrossed their spears to let them in.

Arched domes, pillars, encrusted diamonds and crystals. A wide red carpet stretched up towards the empty thrones at the far end of the room. Its beauty never ceased to amaze Thalia.

Mr Brunner led them over to one of the humungous windows, that refracted the beaming sunlight hynotisingly. There was a elegantly carved stone statue of a handsome elf. Although his features looked out of place in this magnificent room. He scowled heavily as if he were looking at somebody he really didn't like. The detail of his clothing and tunic was breathtakingly perfect, it looked as though the loose pieces of fabric were blowing to the side in the wind. How the artist had managed to make it look so...flawless, it was incredible.

"This is..."

Of course Thalia had always noticed these whenever she went over to play with Annabeth. But after that lesson, could they really be...

"...an actual elf. They can still see and hear what's going on around them. This one can even hear our conversation right now – but he can't move at all."

"That's horrible!" Annabeth gasped. Moving slightly away from the statue. "What crime did he commit?"

"If my memory serves me right, he tried to start a rebellion against your father. Many joined him but he didn't succeed."

"Ha, fail," Thalia put in. Annabeth and her tutor turned to look at her with strange expressions. "What?"

Mr Brunner continued to lead them around the grand hall and gave a brief talk about each elf's history. Murder...Massacre...Rape...consorting with enemies, he told them about each one in the entire room.

All but one.

Thalia remembered leaving the grand hall without looking at one in the far corner. The elf's face was hidden, since she was curled up. Her head was buried in her knees. She wore a long ragged dress that might've been stunning once, but now looked frayed and torn.

Thalia was surprised Annabeth didn't notice it. But she was certain that Mr Brunner was keeping a secret from them.

* * *

After saying goodbye to Thalia at the end of tuition, Annabeth made her way down to the stables. At the age of ten Annabeth was already smarter than a lot of fully grown elves. The only thing she really hated about herself was her height. No one took she seriously because either she was too small or to young.

She couldn't wait to reach sixteen. The first day of her adulthood and the first day her Father will let her finally use magic.

"Hi, Travis!" She greeted the curly haired stable boy with enthusiasm. "Where's Connor?"

Travis frowned. "He said he was going to the palace Kitchens, I dunno."

Poor Travis, if only he remembered that Katie was a Kitchen maid.

"So, what can I do for you? Anything? Did you ask your Father if I can perform at your masquerade? I'll be like so awesome!"

Oops. She forgot.

"How about you can join me on a horse ride – I'll even let you pickpocket some of the villagers," she said trying to change the subject.

Travis' face lit up in a mischievous grin.

"Yeah, sure let's go."

He sped into the stable, and returned back with two dark brown horses, saddled and ready to go.

"Do you need help getting on, like last time?" He asked innocently.

Annabeth's face flushed. She playfully shoved Travis into his horse.

"No, it was raining last time and it was too slippery."

"Sure, whatever you say princess."

"Let's just go, ok?"

* * *

The group of bandits were laughing and shoving each other. They wore earth coloured clothes and carried heavy metal swords. In the middle of the clearing, they were making a fire, which looked dangerous since there were many dry autumn leaves on the ground.

They smelt completely human to Percy.

He gripped the side of his branch and looked closer at them, he wondered whether he should waste his time on them or not.

A wooden cart stood to the side of the bandits. It was big enough to fit a person. Or several. It looked old and battered, like it had been used many times - and it probably had. Anger flared up inside of Percy, no one should treat people like that. It wasn't right.

He could sense a presence in there. Or was it two? Nevertheless he was going to find out.

He dropped down from his tree overlooking the clearing, landing with a soft thud. The bandits stopped laughing and turned around to face him. Their faces were cruel and prepared for an attack, they gripped the hilts of their swords with large beefy hands.

Their eyebrows rose at the sight of the weapon less ten year, before they started laughing again. Their voices echoed around the forest and got lost in the wind...

"Look, Nico! See what _terrible _enemy has turned up!" the tallest one mocked.

A dark haired man pushed his way forward, brandishing his sword.

"Is this some sort of joke?"

"No," Percy said. "I'll give you two choices – release your captives or I'll release them for you."

The leader stepped forward. "How about 'no' little boy. You don't even have a sword."

"I don't need one to defeat you."

The leader scowled. "Someone just take him away – I am not going to waste my time on _children._"

A bandit stepped forward.

Before he could reach him, he disappeared.

There was a stunned silence.

A pile of dust lay on the ground, unaffected by the wind.

The bandits backed away, before running as fast as they could into the trees. Their expressions pure horror.

Percy concentrated on the lock of the cart and it clicked open. Inside were two trembling children. The youngest was seven who had brown curly hair and golden eyes. The other stood protectively in front of the girl his eyes narrowed and judging.

"You're free to go," Percy said softly.

"W - where's the bandits?" the girl asked.

"Gone. I scared them off," the other boy raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"Just believe me. Do you know you're way home from here?"

The girl nodded, staring in wonder at Percy. The boy pulled on her arm.

"Come on, let's go."

"But what about you?" The girl said, staring at Percy. "Who are you? How come you managed to scare off the bandits?"

The girl spoke maturely for a seven year old. Both of them were most likely elves. Human seven year olds sounded childish in his opinion.

"You can call me Percy – although I don't know my real name. As for scaring the bandits, I've had a lot of practice."

It was true. Percy didn't know his real name. Maybe no one even gave him a name when he was born. He wouldn't be surprised...he was abandoned at the age of one in a cave – faraway from civilization.

The girl nodded, but looked disappointed that Percy wouldn't give her anymore information. The boy tugged on her arm again and they both sped off into the wood at a speed only elves could run at.

* * *

"Uurrgh, it's really foggy here."

"Stop complaining, Travis – you've said that for the last half hour!" Annabeth chided. They were both going at a snail's pace on the backs of their horses, trying to see through the thick blinding fog.

"Sorry, your highness – race you to the nearest village!" Travis gave her a teasing smile and pushed a lock of curly hair behind his ear. He really need to get it cut.

His horse suddenly bolted forward and they both disappeared in the thick white mist. Pressing her horse's side with her feet she galloped after him trying to see through the fog.

"Travis!" She called.

But there was no response.

"Travis! Come back!" But only her voice echoed back to her.

The woods were completely silent around her. She looked around her for any signs of life. Nothing. Not even the leaves on the trees were moving. Stupid Travis.

She continued to gallop but she knew in her heart she wasn't going to find him. Panic welled up in her chest. "Travis!"

If only she could use magic! It frustrated her that she wasn't allowed to, until her sixteenth birthday. She had no idea where she was. She mentally slapped herself for being so foolish and straying so far from the castle.

Everywhere was shrouded in a veil of white; nothing seemed familiar as she weaved her way in and out of the trees.

* * *

An hour must have passed. She was getting nowhere. Her hands were frozen from the cold and her hope of finding her way back home was fading. Her horse had slowed down in its pace, she had really pushed it to its limits. All she could do is wait for the fog to go away.

"You seem lost."

Annabeth blinked. In front of her was a person that had not been there a few seconds ago. Her horse stopped as if under a spell.

The person pushed down their hood, revealing a red haired woman. Her eyes were a deep shade of violet, mysterious and emotionless. She was beautiful in a different and mysterious sort of way, although her eyes were half closed as if she were indescribably tired.

"You're in my territory."

Annabeth frowned. Who was this woman and what right did she have to order her around? Annabeth was the princess of Athane, no one in the whole world was higher than her apart from her father.

"I don't know where to go," Annabeth said, trying to move her horse but the horse didn't oblige.

"You can't escape from here you know. The fog is never going to go away unless I let it." Her voice was completely void of emotion.

Fear gripped Annabeth. What was happening?

"Who are you?" She asked timidly.

"A soothsayer, no one knows my real name but I tell everyone it's 'Rachel'" the woman said, her violet eyes glowing slightly. "I'll let you go if you can complete the task I have set for you."

Annabeth wondered what that meant.

"All I want you to do is kill one mermaid. Bring it to me within the next hour."

The idea of mermaids seemed so ridiculous Annabeth wanted to laugh. But she couldn't. Something about Rachel's voice told her she was telling the truth.

"A mermaid?" was all she could say. Her voice trembled slightly, though she wasn't sure why.

"Yes, a mermaid," Rachel said irritably. "Mermaid tails are vital for my newest potions...also they are quite a delicacy to eat when cooked correctly and added with a pinch of basil...well I must be and by the way - you are more than welcome to stay for dinner...if you bring the mermaid. It's always nice to have more than one guests..."

Her body dissolved into the fog and then she was gone. Annabeth was alone again.

Did that really just happen? Or was she hallucinating? Where was she supposed to find a mermaid?

If Rachel had really been telling the truth, then Annabeth would have to start looking. Or she would be stuck here forever. Her entire life came crashing down on her. Did this mean that mermaids existed? Were there any other monsters out there - the thought frightened her.

She was shivering from the cold and apprehension. How was she supposed to fight a mermaid and win? All she had with her was a dagger and she couldn't use it very well.

She thought back to Mr Brunner's lessons about creatures of magic. Mermaids could survive on land and in water. They were beautiful in a hypnotizing way and would lure sailors to their deaths with their haunting melodies. But that was all she remembered, it was so long ago since Mr Brunner gave them a lesson about mythological creatures. Now it was coming alive and Annabeth didn't like it one bit.

Annabeth tried to think of their weaknesses. What was it? Something to do with their tails...she couldn't remember – what was it?

Too late. For through the thick fog, Annabeth could just make out a dark figure, with icy cold eyes that stared straight into her own. An aura of power clung to its body. Every instinct in Annabeth screamed 'run!'

But she couldn't. There were only two options. Stay and fight or stay trapped in this fog forever.


	3. The Half Breed

"Rachel."

"Aww, Percy you came back," she replied, leaning down and pinching Percy's cheek.

Percy stepped backwards towards the door. This woman really freaked him out."I need another potion."

"Of course, Percy – a little girl is just fetching the ingredients for me," Rachel said patronosingly. She started collecting herbs off her table and threw them one by one in a cauldron.

"A little girl?"

Rachel laughed, though Percy had no idea why. "She trespassed into my territory so I told her to bring me back a mermaid or I wouldn't let her out of the fog."

"A mermaid?"

"Yes, yes," Rachel said impatiently, her violet eyes flashed. "It's a vital part of the potion – without it the potion could go incredibly wrong and you'll most likely turn into a goldfish."

Percy stepped back again.

"So basically you're turning me into a cannibal?"

"Well..no, ok yeah but it doesn't matter! Anyway, I eat mermaids all the time – incredibly tasty, you know."

Percy felt sick. This woman was really starting to creep him out. The only reason he came here was so he could keep his two legs.

Maybe it wasn't any better.

"I think I might go..."

"No! Stay – you want your potion don't you? I doubt you would find it interesting at the bottom of the ocean. You can help me cook dinner if you like – maybe we can invite that nice little girl, that is if she succeeds."

"Fine, I'll stay."

"Yay! You can start chopping up these nightlock berries – "

"Aren't they poisonous?" Rachel considered, staring down at the pure black berries on her wooden table.

"Only to humans – oh and mermaids. I guess you shouldn't eat any then. More for me and that girl. I know she will like them - her mother ate them with me all the time."

"What do you mean 'her mother'"

"Er...well you know! Her mother, the one that gave birth to her. Keep up, dummy," Rachel suddenly seemed nervous all of a sudden. Percy realised that he had stepped onto dangerous territory.

"O...k? but how do you know her?"

Rachel tapped her nose in a way that said 'that's for me to know and you to find out' He hated it when she did that.

Percy rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, does this girl even know how to fight?"

"Nope! Well, at least I don't think so...all brains and no strength if you ask me," Rachel giggled. Yep. She was one hundred percent crazy. She started stirring her concoction in her cauldron, as if she had just waved off the topic.

Percy stood up from his chair and sprinted out the door.

"Percy! Don't go – " Rachel called desperately, although Percy didn't know why she cared.

"I've got to help her!" He slammed the wooden door behind him and raced off into the fog.

He followed the elfin scent of lavender, a trail of gold showed him the way. He couldn't believe that Rachel would send an innocent girl, with absolutely no experience of fighting, to kill a fully grown mermaid. His feet raced faster than any elf could run as he rushed inbetween the tall overgrown trees.

The fog had no affect on him, it was as if it weren't there at all. Far in the distance he saw two shapes, he heard a scream. High pitched and terrified.

He was almost too late. As soon as he arrived at the pond, the creature already had its fangs out and its full power unleashed. Its dark brown hair dripped at the ends with water and droplets of water sparkled on her mesmerising body. She seemed to be swimming closer to the waters edge.

A girl around his age was lying dazed under a tree, as if she had been thrown backwards. She had curly blonde hair and unusual grey eyes, that he had never encountered before. The blue eyed mermaid hissed when she saw him, her teeth were pointed like fangs. She stepped out of the water, her tail shimmering into a pair of legs.

Quick as a flash Percy sent a column of fire at her. But she retaliated with a burst of water. Percy summoned a completely ice crafted sword, though it slightly depleted his energy. The mermaid growled when she saw it and lunged towards him, talons ready. Percy ducked as she swiped her hand at him, the deadly claws glinted with the water.

He slashed across her body, blocking the tendrils of energy she shot at him. He quickly teleported behind her and before she could react, his blade sliced through the base of her neck.

Her figure burst into fragments of water and she let out a piercing scream, before fading into nothingness.

The woods were suddenly quiet again. The silence felt deafening...

He looked over at the blonde haired girl and noticed that she was crying. She flinched when he went over. He could easily tell that she was petrified – she most likely had never encountered anything like this before.

"Hey, it's ok to cry," Percy told her gently, helping her to sit up.

She lifted her head and stared at him with stormy grey eyes. "I – I was so scared..." her voice trailed off. Percy felt sorry for her, to him it was nothing. He had grown up fighting monsters his whole life. But to her...this was like a nightmare come true.

"You should go home now, follow that golden trail and it will lead you out of the woods," he pointed to the track he made earlier. It wound randomely through the trees and dest

The girl didn't move. "Wait, who are you?"

"Call me Percy – or anything, I don't mind. I don't have a proper name."

She nodded and shakily stood up. Her tears had stopped now, thankfully.

Just as she was about to go, she looked down from her horse and handed Percy a dagger.

"You probably need it more than me."

"No, I can't it yours," Percy said shocked that anyone was giving him a gift. Though something stirred inside of him, but he wasn't sure what.

"No, take it, please," her stormy eyes told him she wasn't going to back down.

"Well – thank you. It means a lot," Percy responded taking the beautiful golden dagger.

Suddenly he felt a movement behind him.

Something grabbed him by the shoulders and he fell into the pond. Just before he hit the water he heard the girl scream in horror.

There was a rush of water around his ears, his vision of the ground disappeared. As soon as his body connected with the water he could already feel his limbs changing. His canines grew longer and his legs smoothly transformed into a powerful sea coloured tail. He spun around and faced his enemy; Who stared back at him in complete and utter disbelief.

* * *

Thalia saw a dark figure through the blowing pine trees, the person was hunched over their horse.

"Annabeth!" Thalia yelled, galloping towards her.

She didn't respond. That was unusual. Her grey eyes looked a little broken, which wasn't right for a ten year old.

"Annabeth, what happened?" Thalia said softly in a voice she hardly ever spoke in.

Travis cantered over, looking incredibly guilty. His eyes were downcast and he had taken an interest in the grass.

"It – it was a mermaid a – and...this...b – boy..." she trailed off.

Thalia was confused. What was she going on about. Mermaids? They didn't exist – only in Mr Brunner's mythology books.

"Come on – let's get you home."

Annabeth nodded. Her eyes seemed glazed. There were tear marks on her face. Her usually perfect hair was knotted and coming undone from the braids.

"Annabeth – I'm so so sorry! I honestly didn't mean to leave you behind, it was so stupid of me – I'm so so sorry, I –"

"Travis, Shut up," Thalia said.

Annabeth didn't even look like she was listening. Her eyes were unfocused as if she were watching a memory in her head.

It was really starting to creep Thalia out.

* * *

"Percy! Just look at the state of you!" Rachel scolded.

Percy looked down at his dripping wet clothes. "I got pulled into a pond – what do you expect?"

"What about the girl – do you think she can make it for dinner?"

"No, she's gone."

Rachel nodded. "Yay! You've got the mermaid – this one is quite powerful, maybe the potion will work longer this time."

"I wouldn't count on it," Percy muttered.

"What was that? You want to stay for tea? Of course! But you can't sit at the table like that...hmmm...this might fit you!"

She held up a boys outfit. A simple shirt and trousers.

"They look several sizes too big. I'm only ten."

"Yes, yes. I know that – but beggars can't be choosers."

"Well, I'll definitely look like a beggar in that," he mumbled.

"The last person who wore these didn't complain one single bit," She stopped as if she was giving away too much information.

"Who was that?"

"Erm...it doesn't matter...now how about you mix this salad together, ok?"

"Fine." But he suddenly felt like there was a lot more to Rachel than met the eye.

Trust no one. The thought just randomly popped into his head. But it was right. Trust no one.


	4. Unjust

5 years had passed ever since Annabeth's encounter with Percy and her first monster. Her father noticed that her dagger was missing.

But she didn't tell the truth. Only that she had lost it.

In a few months, she was finally going to turn sixteen. Then she would finally learn how to use magic, her friend Thalia had turned sixteen a month ago – the Duke had held a massive masquerade.

She wanted the same for her birthday. But no. No one ever listens to her. Instead her father is throwing the biggest Mellay competition the world has ever known.

Just great.

Now she had to watch countless amounts of knights knock the senses out of each other.

She started walking up the stairs to her tutor room. She was already 3 minutes and 40 seconds late.

Thalia didn't need to come to lessons, since she was now sixteen. But she came anyway, to keep Annabeth company. It warmed her that Thalia would do this for her – she knew that she hated lessons.

She knocked on the door.

"Come in."

She stepped into the room and sat down next to Thalia, placing her notes and papers in front of her.

"So class...today we are going to be learning about souls...yes Annabeth?"

"But we still haven't finished our project on the history of the elfin warfare – we're still in the middle of that."

"We're changing over now." He said swiftly, leaving no room for debate. "So the elfish soul – it comes to us naturally when we are born, whereas in other animals...they have to find it themselves."

"What other animals?"

Mr Brunner hesitated. "Monsters, mythological creatures. Every single one of them has a soul – except none of them are naturally born with it."

There was a heavy silence in the room.

"You cannot determine whether a person or creature is good or bad if they have no soul. Take a dragon for example – if a dragon kills a human or elf you cannot say it is bad or good. Only until it has a soul – then you judge it by its true personality."

"Sir, is it possible for monsters to awaken their soul?" Annabeth asked.

Mr Brunner's face darkened.

"Yes," he said softly. His eyes looked unfocused.

* * *

"I'm sick of this," Percy growled. "I have to actually get out and do something."

"How do you mean?" Rachel asked. She stopped stirring her concoction, which caused it to go a mottled green.

"I'm just tired of fighting monsters _every day _and then sitting in your house doing nothing. You're the only person I actually know – I just want to go back to civilization."

Rachel feigned hurt. "I thought you liked staying with me and making potions...I never get bored of this and I've been doing for over five hundred years."

"But I'm bored, I'm _different _to you. I just want to go and actually have a life – meet new people, make friends."

"But what if they find out who you really are?" Rachel retorted.

"They won't – I'll make sure of it, please Rachel – I won't tell anyone about you or give away any of your secrets," Percy gave her puppy eyes.

Rachel sighed. "Fine, as long as you don't tell anyone your past or about me."

Percy wasn't sure why Rachel wanted to keep her identity such a secret. It occurred to Percy that he hardly knew anything about Rachel at all. Apart that she was a soothsayer and said she wasn't a witch even though she made potions.

"I think I'll try out for the Knights Mellay in Athane, it'll be different..."

"Don't show them your full power," Rachel warned. "Because no elf can even hope to harness magic like you."

"I know, I'll be careful."

"You better be."

* * *

"Where have you been this morning – you've made me clean out the stables all on my own – it's horrible, I think my nose is going to fall off," Travis whined. He pointed to the freshly clean stables.

"Erm...I was doing some important stuff..."

"Like hanging round Katie again," Travis said.

"Yep, but she's hardly interested in me. It's always Travis this, Travis that. I bet all she ever thinks about it is you. It's not fair. I'm the better looking one."

Travis puffed out his chest. "We look exactly the same, I've just got a better sense of style than you."

"Yeah, like dungarees and horse poo stained boots – very attractive. I don't know what Katie see's in you."

"Er...how about my personality? I don't act like a jerk _all of the time_. Unlike some people."

Connor snorted. "Whatever, Katie's just a stupid girl anyway. I don't even know why I'm wasting my time on her. Thalia on the other hand is _way _prettier."

"You take that back!"

"Only if you admit I'm the better twin."

"Never," Travis lunged at his brother and failed miserably.

Connor threw a punch at him and caught Travis right in the forehead. He fell down to the floor, trying to keep conscious.

"Pathetic," Connor said.

Suddenly Travis swiped his leg at Connors ankles and he stumbled over. Both boys leapt up and wrestled around the courtyard attracting a crowd, who promptly started yelling "Fight, fight, fight!"

Connor tried punching Travis again, but he missed and staggered forward. Travis took the opportunity to kick him in the butt and send him tumbling into a dirty pile of excess hay and horse muck.

The crowd cheered and laughed. Travis found it a bit immature.

Just then soldiers parted through the crowds and took the two boys by their arms. Perfect, now Connor had just got them both arrested. They soldiers dragged them into the throne room - all the while the twins yelled insults at each other.

The King of Athane – Annabeth's father- looked incredibly bored as he sentenced them to jail. What was the point? It was only a stupid fight. Kings overreact to much - like fussy their father would bail them out so Travis wouldn't have to stay stuck in the same room with his infuriating brother, which definitely could be dangerous.

Travis turned his back to his brother and pointed his upturned nose in the air. He had a very interesting view of a mouldy stone wall that suspiciously smelt of wee. Eww.

There was a loud bang behind him.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting myself out – with magic."

Travis noted how Connor didn't say 'us'

"The king probably isn't that stupid, he most likely has protected the lock with magic," Travis replied sourly.

"The king will always be stupid to me," was Connors only response.

Travis raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you want to start a rebellion, and they never work."

"I know, I'm not that stupid. I just don't like the way he rules."

For once, Travis agreed with his brother. He knew that the proud king ruled unjustly and many of his opinions were biased, even his own daughter agreed with that.

It was strange though. Travis' mother had told him stories of the king when she was a young woman. The king from her stories was nothing like the cold dictator they had now.

So what made him change?

**AN: Thanks for reading peoples! Please review...! I'll probably update tomorrow - or maybe today...if i finish the next chapter in time, since my computer shuts down at 9pm. **


	5. Atlantia

"Annabeth, you've finally joined us," her father said with little to no emotion. His dark robes resembled his personality. "This is the King of Atlantia, the only other elfin empire on earth."

Annabeth curtsied, but didn't break eye contact from the King.

He had strange eyes that swirled with different shades of blue. She tried to detect his emotions, but just like her father, she couldn't read him at all.

"As you were saying – the papers will be signed in 3 months, you must stay for the knights Mellay. Is your son competing?" Her father continued, brushing Annabeth off as if she weren't there.

"Of course, my son, Prince Triton, is the perfect epitome of an elfin warrior, he is yet to be defeated," the tall king stated arrogantly.

The man next to the king smiled at Annabeth, dimples formed at the sides of his cheeks.

"It will be an honour to fight for my lady," he said leaning down and kissing the back of her hand. Wait what was he insinuating? Her jaw clenched as she realised her father's plan.

"The marriage will take place on the day of Annabeth's birthday," her father looked slyly at her as if to say 'Yes! I finally can get rid of you'

"No! Wait – don't I get a say in this?" Annabeth said desperately.

The two kings stared at her as if it were the most preposterous idea that she had ever suggested.

"I'll take that as a 'no'" She muttered.

"What can you possibly not like about this?" Her father asked, it annoyed her how he never changed the tone of his voice. "You're being married to the most powerful prince in the land, it's every girl's dream."

Annabeth shook her head in disbelief. "Excuse me," she said and then quickly left the grand hall. She really hated her father now, he didn't care one bit about her. If only she could do what she wanted without being questioned. 'You're a girl, you're too weak' 'Your father knows what is best for you' 'You can't do this, you can't do that'

A tingling sensation went up her spine. It was almost as if she was being watched. She looked back at the statues in the room. _They can still see and hear what's going on around them. _That's what Mr Brunner said. She shivered and hurriedly made her way back down the arched corridor.

She left the palace, stepping out into the glaring light of the sun. There was a surprising amount of people around the stables, all of them were shouting something.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a group of soldiers who had spotted the fight. They pointed down to the commotion and dragged two boys out of the middle of the crowd. One of them had hay sticking in his hair...wait was that _Connor _and _Travis_? She could hear them screaming some pretty horrific things to each other about...Katie?

Annabeth's gaze fell upon Katie who was carrying a bucket of water to the palace kitchens. She saw her stop and gape at the two boys, before she hurried down the steps to the kitchens. The water sloshed out of the edge of the bucket and spilling onto her simple dress.

Annabeth sighed. Now she would have to bail them both out. Before she could do anything else, she heard a familiar voice.

"Annabeth!"

A smile suddenly lit up her face. She ran down the cobbled stone street and into the arms of her old friend.

"Silena! I've missed you so much! What has it been like in Atlantia? You have _got _to tell me everything!"

"Let's go down to our inn, we can talk there – Charlie is there unpacking."

"Charlie? You've definitely been busy these past years," Annabeth laughed, her cares and worries slowly melted away.

They started walking towards the small but cosy inn on the side of the market street.

"Yes! He is sooo dreamy and you should really see his muscles..." She started blushing furiously. "Well anyway, we've come here to get married! This has been my dream – to get married in my hometown."

"That's great, Silena," Annabeth said, feeling happy for her friend.

She pushed the wooden inn door open and a delicious smell of roast chicken wafted around her. The inn hummed with chatter and the clinks of glasses.

She led Annabeth up some narrow steps and into her hired out room.

"Charlie!" Her friend ran up and hugged him which to Annabeth's amusement, made his face heat up. "This is Annabeth, my friend that I've been telling you about!"

The guy shook hands with her awkwardly.

"So back to business, please, please, please can you be my maid of honour," she begged.

"Yes, of course I will! Where is the wedding going to be?"

"Down at the grove, remember it? We use to play there as children. I bet I'll be like crying my eyes out on the day – so many memories," She smiled dreamily. "But enough about me, how have you been these past years? Any boys I need to know about?"

Annabeth flushed. "Well...just this morning my father has arranged a marriage for me with the prince of Atlantia – do you know him?"

"Prince Triton? Of course I do, he is so cute!" Her fiancé coughed not so subtly.

"I don't like him – he's one of those arrogant types of people, if you get me," Annabeth said, envisioning Triton in her mind.

"But at least he'll protect you from any dangers, did you hear when he destroyed the fire breathing hydra? _Everyone _in Atlantia was swooning over him for the next few months, it was absolutely disgusting."

"I thought that hydra's weren't that dangerous, at least not as dangerous as mermaids," Annabeth said. A memory from five years ago suddenly appeared in her mind.

"Yeah, I totally agree with you! Mermaids are like the worst of the worst, no one has ever actually killed one before, I don't think. They're far too dangerous – particularly for men."

_Particularly for men. _But then how did that boy kill that mermaid all those years back? She shoved the thought out of her mind. That boy was dead now. Another mermaid had pulled him into the water, she had waited in terror for him to come out. But he never did.

"Annabeth? Annabeth?" Silena waved a hand in front of her face.

"Sorry, just zoned out for a few seconds," she apologised.

"Guess what?" Silena suddenly said.

"What?"

"Only last week..." she launched into a whole string of gossip, but Annabeth's mind was somewhere else. Reliving the memories of her past. Then finally her earliest memory. A face looking down at her, smiling softly. Blonde curls, exactly like her own, spilling over the woman's shoulders.

But where was she now?

**AN: Yay! two chapters in one day, hope you like it! happy reading! Maybe one more chapter today...**


	6. Goblin's Exist?

Thalia watched her tutor walk briskly down the palace courtyard; he was carrying something that looked like a book in his hand.

Thalia frowned. There was something incredible wrong with her tutor at the moment but she couldn't figure what it was. She needed someone as smart as Annabeth to help.

She stepped out of the shadow of a pillar and secretly followed her tutor. She kept a safe distance from him, so he wouldn't notice his new stalker.

She waited behind a large beach tree as he got a horse out of the stables. Travis and Connor weren't there monitoring the stables for some reason. They were probably slacking off duty and pick pocketing some innocent human village. They always liked to target the weaker ones.

Once Mr Brunner was a safe distance away, Thalia quickly saddled a horse and sped after him, keeping to the shadows of the trees. She could tell that he was pushing his horse to its limits, there was definitely something up.

She struggled to keep him in sight; maybe he knew that she was following him. Suddenly without warning, he veered off right into a dark forest.

Thalia panicked since he was out of sight. She sped her horse up and turned her horse right, though she wasn't sure if she was in the right place. She saw a moving figure through the trees, but it was gradually getting smaller.

Hurrying her horse up even more, she raced towards the blur through the trees. The light shining through the trees was disorientating and there were bright spots in her eyes. It was unnaturally quiet. There were no birds singing and the leaves made no rustling as she rushed past them.

She felt like she had stepped into dangerous grounds.

The blur in the distance had disappeared. Thalia felt a pang of frustration. There was no way she could follow him now. But part of her told her not to give up. Giving up was not something she did often.

Suddenly her horse tripped underneath her, skidding across the muddy path. She didn't even have time to scream before she went flying off her horse and straight into a tree. _Damn it _was all she thought before she lost consciousness.

* * *

She woke up tied to a slab of stone a ceiling of soil above her. Her head pounded and throbbed, her right arm felt like it was on fire.

"She awakes," a gruff voice announced. That definitely was not a human or an elf. She tilted her head to the side.

Giant cloudy red eyes glared at her. She jumped at the sight of the grotesquely hideous creature. It had large hairy ears that stuck out prominently on its head. It had a rather large belly and wore nothing except for a strip of cloth around its lower parts. Black snot was bubbling just below his nostrils.

Thalia wrinkled her nose in disgust. Of all the people to kidnap her, it just had to be a chronically obese goblin that seriously needed a tissue.

She heard a door open. Thalia tilted her head to the other side and saw a tall elf enter the room. He wore a brown leather apron and carried a nasty looking dagger in his hand.

Thalia didn't know why she was scared. Elves couldn't die, could they? This man wouldn't be able to kill her.

"Finally I actually get a good specimen for once," the elf said, smiling down at Thalia as if she were some kind of present. "No thanks to you Luke, I heard that you knocked yourself out before the ambush even started," he told the goblin with disapproval.

"Excuse me, who do you think you are?" Thalia said angrily.

"Me?" Who else? She thought with annoyance. "I'm Leo, I work on teenage elves day in day out – it's very tiring you know."

"That's disgusting."

"And this -" he gestured to the goblin. "– is my assistant goblin. Of course he used to be an elf once...but I kinda messed up an experiment...and you know what happened next."

"I didn't agree to this," the goblin muttered grumpily.

"It's not like you've got a choice," Leo snapped back, pointing his dagger at him.

The goblin decided to take an interest in his feet.

"Sorry about that, my goblin's are always temperamental, I have no idea why – I consider myself a very good slave master," he said with enthusiasm. "So, Luke, what's on the agenda today?"

The goblin huffed. "Dissecting the teenage nose – discovering why elves don't catch colds and goblins do."

"Awesome, let's get started," Leo clapped his hand together in excitement. "Frank! Hazel!"

Two children under the age of ten burst into the room. They had a strange orange aura clinging to them.

"What's happening?" Thalia said panicking. "Let me go you weirdo!"

"But I haven't even starting my experimenting yet!" Leo complained. "Don't worry; I won't be using your nose for too long. Then we can do some proper experimenting!"

He rummaged in his leather apron pocket and pulled out a massive instrument that should not have been able to fit in that pocket. Her eyes widened.

"Hazel, my dear – care to knock her out for me?"

The girl nodded robotically and took the heavy object.

"No! Don't do it," Thalia commanded with as much authority as she could muster. "Put it down!"

Hazel still slowly approached her with the tranquillizer.

Thalia desperately tried to remember who Hazel and Frank were. She vaguely remembered a group of girls younger than her playing in the grove when she was ten. Hazel...Le – lav –

"Hazel Levesque, put it down."

The spell broke and she promptly dropped the tranquillizer on Leo's feet.

"OW!" he let out a very girlish scream.

"Ahh! Where am I?" Hazel shrieked. "Who are you? What's happening?"

"You horrible girl!" Leo wailed. "You broke the enchantment – and made her break my toes. That well hurts."

"Good," Thalia said. "Hazel, it's me Thalia. Do you remember me? Can you untie me?"

"O-ok," she stammered.

"Oh no you don't," Leo spat. He stumbled towards them with his dagger pointing at Hazel.

All of a sudden the ground started shaking, piles of mud started falling from the roof. Hazel started screaming and Leo starting cursing in his own made up language. Frank stood completely motionless, unaware to his surroundings.

"We're all going to die!" screeched Luke the goblin.

Then everything exploded.


	7. Changes

**Bonjour mes amis! Just need to say that I do not own any characters all rights go to Rick Riordon! **

"Lords and ladies, I welcome you to the opening of the 5th and biggest Knight's Mellay!" Annabeth's father introduced.

The elves in the stands erupted in applause and cheers. Around the arena were all the contestants, Annabeth could see Thalia's older brother, Heracles, standing amongst them. Thinking of Thalia, where was she? She thought that Thalia would have loved to witness the Mellay, her father, Duke Zeus, was watching with them in the royal box.

Annabeth was disappointed that Thalia wasn't here, since this meant she had to sit alone, under her father's glare – which was not her idea of 'fun'

Her father waved the contestants off the arena and then the first match had begun. Powers and magical abilities were allowed, the first to fall unconscious was the loser.

This was going to be a long day.

Annabeth looked down from the royal box and saw two elves circling each other guardedly. The tallest one lunged suddenly at his opponent, his black ponytail swinging.

The shorter elf blocked his sword with unexpected strength and blasted his opponent with a powerful stream of energy which hit the taller one directly in the chest.

The spectators cheered when the elf was sent sprawling on the arena floor. He recovered quickly and charged again at his opponent, he blocked another stream of energy with his sword and slashed across the elf's chest.

Annabeth quickly looked away at the gruesome sight of blood. Unlike Thalia, she couldn't bear the sight of someone else's blood. Seeing her blood was fine – but on someone else...it was just foul.

"Are you not enjoying it, Annabeth?" Her father asked.

"No, it's very interesting," she managed without vomiting over his feet.

"I'm glad," though he didn't sound very glad.

The horn blew to signal the end of the match. Annabeth looked down again to see the shorter elf being carried away by servants – the winner was bowing and taking in the applause and roar of the crowd.

"How many more is there to watch?" Annabeth asked looking back at her father, who was talking to the King of Atlantia.

He stopped talking and peered down at the scroll in his hands.

"49 more... for today," he said smugly. She could positively hear the words that lay underneath: 'It's so fun boring you to death'

She held back a groan and set her eyes back on the arena. She only hoped that Thalia turned up so she could have someone to talk to.

* * *

Thalia opened her eyes cautiously. The ground had stopped shaking and she still was in one piece. There was a massive crater all around her that was full to the brim with precious jewels and gems that had not been there a moment ago.

She was still tied to the stone block, but at least she was in the open air.

There was clanging of metal and Leo poked his head out of the jewels and starting wailing about his house being trashed and generally making a racket.

"Hazel?" Thalia called.

"What – what just happened?" She stammered. The aura of orange had disappeared. Thalia noticed in shock that Hazel was standing completely unscathed with not one gemstone touching her.

"Can you untie me and then we can figure that out?"

Hazel blinked. "Yeah, sorry..."

She started pulling on the knots that came off easier than Thalia expected. "Why are you so old? I mean...you look older than you were a few weeks ago."

Thalia wondered how to break the news nicely.

She sat up on the stone slab once the knots were all undone.

"Hazel, I haven't seen you in five years."

"Wait, what do you mean, I'm sure -"

"That mad creature over there - ," she pointed to Leo. "- has been keeping you prisoner. He trapped you in time and made you his slave for five years."

She let that sink it. Hazel took it surprisingly well. She breather deeply and exhaled. "What about my mother and my father – they must think I'm dead..." her eyes widened even more. "I have to get back!"

"What about your friend? He was here a moment ago," Thalia remembered.

"I don't know!" Hazel wailed. "What friend?"

"Erm...the guy with short black hair – you know, the person you have a crush on?"

Hazel looked dumbfounded. "You mean Frank? He's here too? Eeek! We need to find him."

Well, she didn't deny that she had a crush on him...

Hazel immediately started wading through giant crater of gems, desperately screaming Frank's name. Thalia saw her tumble over suddenly.

"I've found him!" she yelled. She pulled up a figure that definitely did not look like Frank.

"Put me down!" hollered the goblin, his feet dangled in air from Hazel's grip. Hazel screamed and dropped him right into a very spiky looking crystal.

"Oof."

"Try calling his full name," Thalia suggested helpfully.

"MY PRECIOUS HOUSE, YOU'VE MANSLAUGHTERED MY HOUSE," cried Leo, who was trying to find his broken pieces of furniture and the occasional lamp shade.

"Frank! Frank Zhang!" Hazel called.

A head burst out of the thick sea of precious stones. "Yes, yes! I'm coming mother! Wait what am I doing here?" his head promptly fell back heavily with a nasty thud. Thalia winced.

"Frank's alive!" Hazel said happily, rushing over toward him.

Together Thalia and Hazel dragged him out of the pit and laid him carefully on the ground. He started snoring heavily, so they knew he was alright.

"What are we going to do about him?" Hazel asked pointing down at the hyperventilating madman.

"Leave him there? He did kidnap us after all," Thalia said hardheartedly.

"But -"

"Let's go," Thalia interrupted. "You take his hands, I'll take his feet."

Hazel blushed when she had to hold his hands. Yep. Undeniably in love...at 7 years old.

"Poof, he weighs like a ton," Thalia groaned.

"It means that he is very muscular," Hazel defended, though Thalia could tell that she was struggling. They stumbled out of the clearing, not even considering taking any gems.

"So, what was your last memory before today?" Thalia said, changing the subject smoothly.

Hazel stared into the distance. Her brow creased as she tried to think. "Hmm...I think I was with Frank – we were locked in a box? I can't really remember that well, oh there was also someone called Percy!"

"Percy? I don't know any Percy's around here."

Hazel frowned; she looked as though she was trying to remember more. "He told me that he didn't have a proper name...can't think why." She got lost in thought again.

Before Thalia could respond Hazel screamed and dropped Frank's hands. His head clanged painfully on a rock. He murmured something unintelligible.

Thalia spun around and she met a familiar pair of dark crimson eyes. She jumped, startled.

"You!" she said.

He looked up at her soberly.

"You shouldn't judge my master too harshly," he told her seriously and quickly wiped a bit of snot from his nose. Thalia fought the urge to hand him a tissue.

"He turned you into a goblin, if you haven't realised that yet. I can't see why you're defending him," Thalia pointed out. "So stop wasting my time, we need to get going – Hazel let's go."

Hazel heaved Frank's arms up and they slowly started making their way back again. The goblin kept up with them on his short knobbly legs.

"He suffered a tragic heartbreak when he was younger – it turned him insane."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want my master to recover from his insanity so -"

"- he'll make you an elf again?" Thalia finished.

"Yeah, but for his own benefit as well," Thalia was taken aback to find that goblins could feel compassion.

Thalia looked back and saw Leo wandering through the woods alone, crying and muttering random words from his own made up language. She felt slightly sorry for him. Homeless and insane.

She sighed. "Ok, I'll help,"

She didn't know where this pity had come from, but seeing Leo looking so lost made her heart pang with remorse.

The goblin smiled gleefully.

"Wow, that sounds so unlike you," Hazel grinned warmly. "The cold fearless Thalia saying 'I'll help'"

"Shut up," she said playfully. She gently put down Frank's legs and weaved her way in through the trees to find Leo.

Luke the goblin hobbled along after her.

"My house...dim-witted...never should've...m – mer..."

"Leo?" Thalia said, trying to sound kind.

Leo looked up at her, his eyes were rimmed with red and his pupils looked abnormally large. He fiddled with something inside his apron pocket.

"You? You came back for me?" He sounded so happy.

Thalia nodded. "Come to Athane with me, I can find you a new place to live there..."

"No...No...Call -"

"Earth to Leo, are you coming or what?" Thalia said impatiently.

"I will join you," he said, breaking out of his trance. "This new place sounds nice."

"Good," Thalia ran her mind through the places he could stay. Either he stayed at an inn the rest of his life or she would have to use her money to buy him a house.

She wasn't sure if she had enough heart to do that.

"Leo – are you strong?"

"Me...Pfft...Yeah I'm strong – I've always been the strongest, not even the King can b -"

"Ok, I get it – can you carry Frank back to Athane for us? So you can show off that strength."

Leo nodded and muttered a few make believe words. Luke screamed excitedly and went off on a ramble about spinach and cabbage leaves. Apparently he liked cooking.

Hazel greeted her when they got back to Frank.

"You've changed, Thalia," she said. "The old Thalia would never have done something like that."

Thalia didn't know what to reply.

* * *

The waiting area stank horrifically of sweat, which was not Percy's idea of starting a new life. Especially when he was being forced to listen to the continuous boasting of a muscular guy called Heracles.

Apparently he had won every single Mellay event he had ever competed in. Right now he was having a heated argument with the Prince of Atlantia. Both of them were standing chest to chest, screaming into each other's faces. How conceited could they get?

No one had taken any notice of Percy, he hadn't expected it. Most of the knights here had competed in the Mellay before and they knew each other quite well. Percy sighed. This wasn't what he had thought the Mellay was going to be like. Since there were so many contestants, he had to wait extra long to fight.

He fiddled with his dagger. He still remembered the girl who had given it to him. He wondered where she was now – she could even be watching from the stands.

He sensed a presence approaching him. Heracles. Just his luck.

"Where did you get that?" he sneered, gesturing to the jewel encrusted dagger.

Percy ignored him and continued fiddling with his dagger.

"Answer me."

"How about 'no'?"

Instead of questioning him anymore, his eyes gleamed. A devious smirk appeared on his features.

"Only girls use daggers," then he walked away.

Percy clenched his jaw, trying to contain his resentment.

The next contestants went on; he could hear the roar of the crowd all the way from here. The fight lasted for approximately 5 minutes, ending in a flash of turquoise light that made the crowd go wild.

"Persues Jackson and Octavian Poall!"

Percy stood up; he could feel eyes on his back as he headed into the arena. He felt like a fly on a wall standing in the middle of the sea of faces.

"Octavian! Octavian!" he heard people chanting. His opponent stared at him through pale blue slits. His figure was tall, though gangly and resembled a scarecrow maybe just a little too realistically. He wore light armour, though Percy wore none. There was no point.

"Begin!" the king yelled from the royal box. Percy looked up and saw a beautiful princess with stormy grey eyes...

Slash.

A deep wound gouged into his arm.

Percy gritted his teeth. He cursed himself for getting distracted. Spinning round and taking the scarecrow by surprise he clanged the flat of his dagger on his head.

Octavian stumbled backwards, his face furious, which made him a very scary scarecrow. He shot a beam of fire right at Percy, who dodged by jumping unnaturally high over his head, somersaulted once and landed neatly behind him.

The crowd screamed in applause.

Octavian spun around and slashed with his sword. But Percy was only toying with him. The scarecrow couldn't make another mark.

Using a disarming technique he had taught himself years ago, he knocked Octavian's sword out of his hand and shot a bolt of blue energy at him. Octavian landed scraped up and bruised far away on the side of the arena.

Percy felt his energy diluting and fading. Seems like the scarecrow won't be able to scare anyone for the time being.

He turned around and looked at the royal box; the blonde haired princess stared down at him like she'd seen a ghost.

This certainly wasn't what Percy had pictured the Mellay to be.

* * *

"So what do you think?"

The room before them was a cosy vintage styled bedroom with a bed and dressing table. Large red curtains hung by the sides of the window that looked out over the market street.

Leo nodded but didn't say anything. It wasn't exactly reassuring.

"That's great," Thalia sighed, pushing Leo into the room. "Make yourself at home, go downstairs and have a pint of beer – or anything you usually do in your spare time-"

..._he dissects teenagers in his spare time_, she reminded herself.

"Actually no – you go and don't leave this room, ok?" Thalia told him. "I'll see you how you are getting on later."

Leo nodded again. "Can I have your ear?"

"No! Stop talking about dissecting ok? It's not civilized."

"Pleeeeese, Caly – I mean Thalia."

"No, no more experimenting, promise me that."

"I – I...um..."

Thalia glared at him.

Leo shrank back. "Can I have some time to think about that?" he asked tentatively.

She glared harder at him.

"Fine, I promise. Only for you." Thalia wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Good, I'll see you later!" Thalia shut his door behind her and made her way back down the wooden staircase. The inn owner waved cheerfully goodbye to her, which she half heartedly responded to.

She was late for the Mellay; Annabeth was going to kill her. Oops. Nah, it's alright elves can't die. The town clock said quarter past four – she'd missed most of the matches. That's disappointing.

Rushing down to the arena and climbing up the long narrow staircase up to the royal box, she swiftly sat down in her seat next to Annabeth.

"Hi!"

Annabeth gave her a shaky smile that completely and utterly failed.

"What's up," Thalia said, though her voice sounded more commanding than worried.

Annabeth laughed proper high pitched. Ooook that was unusual. Her hands were trembling and she was sweating buckets.

"Annabeth, seriously, what's the matter?" her patience was wearing very thin today. "Is it the blood or the fighting? Are you sick?"

Annabeth inhaled sharply. She muttered something about black hair and green eyes? Great, her best friend was turning into a Leo.

"Do you need a rest? Maybe it's the heat – have you been hallucinating?" she realised it was a stupid question since a person who was having hallucinations wouldn't know that they were having hallucinations.

"Saw a ghost..." Annabeth mumbled. She stood up suddenly.

"Annabeth, what are you doing?" King Frederic demanded angrily. "Sit down, immediately."

Slowly Annabeth sat down.

"Annabeth, talk to me – what's going on?" Thalia hissed in her ear, trying to grab her attention.

"I'm not sure – maybe I've got it wrong...I'll find out...tonight..."

Thalia made up her mind to follow her where ever she was going to go. She could stray off the path and get lost...again.

Then after that, Thalia would finally find out what secret Mr Brunner was hiding from them.

**AN: Hi! do you want longer chapters or is this one ok? (Longer ones will take more time though) Thanks!**


	8. Teamwork

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid mermaids. Green tails...fangs. Why? Why? What? No? What was happening? That girl Thalia, she seemed nice. Impatient though, nothing like his mermaid...same voice though...same voice...voices...voices...

The diary it was still there...where was it? His precious diary...not even his, but still precious. The witch, he remembered her – what did she say to him? No, too blurry. Couldn't remember.

He couldn't stay in this inn, the walls felt to threatening. Too real. What he use to live in...the honeysuckle aroma in the air...then it had gone. Vanished. Gone.

He stepped out of his inn door. He didn't shut it, what was the point of shutting doors, he was coming back anyway...he always use to leave his doors open...

Someone said something to him, but he couldn't process the words. Did he say the word chicken? The figure went away. Why didn't the girl let him experiment? It helped clear his mind...focus on something real.

It was late at night now. The cool air helped him to clear his head, it was a lot better than the small menacing room that girl had put him in.

He started walking. There were still people around. Thankfully no one talked to him, if only they would let him experiment...

The diary. That's what he came out here for. The old fading pages, neat small handwriting. It annoyed him. He couldn't read it. He use to be able to read. He still wanted it though.

His feet started moving faster and faster, he hoped he could find it again. Where was his goblin now? His little creation had abandoned him – maybe he had gone to the kitchens, he did like cooking. He always had made great recipes for Leo. Spinach and cabbage stew...the mermaid found it funny. So he found it funny as well.

The mermaid, the mermaid. Her name was slipping from his memory. What was it? It began with C. Ca – no, Celappa? No, that wasn't it. Maybe her name was in the diary. That girl could read it to him. He would remember then, he would remember...

The trees looked distorted. They didn't use to look like that. Everything was too dark. He was never going to find the diary.

Then he saw the clearing where the explosion had happened. He didn't know why it had happened. His mind was so full of anger and hatred, then that girl had given him another chance. Something snapped inside him.

He ignored whatever it was. All he wanted was the diary. It must be somewhere around here. It wouldn't have gone too far since it was so heavy.

He waded his way into the pool of gemstones; they looked so dazzling and beautiful in the moonlight. A memory came back to him, he pushed it aside.

He was going to find this diary, no matter what.

* * *

Annabeth silently watched as her maid pulled the lush scarlet curtains together and blew out the candles. Once she was out of the room, Annabeth quietly changed into outdoor clothes and wrapped a cloak around her; she fumbled with the buttons in the darkness.

Cautiously, Annabeth slowly found her way to the chamber door and carefully opened it, trying not to make a noise. She shut her door and stepped into the torch lit corridor.

The expensive soft carpet muffled her footsteps as she crept down the stairs. The night sentry's stood at the base of the stairs. She stopped herself just in time, pressing her into an alcove in the wall.

She thought quickly of all the possible outcomes of this situation. But before she could do anything she heard her bedroom door creak open. She froze. There must've been someone in there all that time.

The door creaked open wider, Annabeth saw the night sentries looking up at it suspiciously. The two of them warily stepped up the stairs, their shoulders tense for any unexpected movement.

Annabeth pressed herself deeper into the alcove, holding her breath. They went past her without noticing anything. She fought the urge to run down the stairs whilst they were facing the other way. Instead, she waited patiently until they had both disappeared into her chambers.

Once they were out of sight, she ran as quietly as she could down the stairs and out into the back gardens. Her heart thumped loudly from the close escape as she ran down a narrow path through the well kept gardens. A fountain continued to bubble as she ran past it, the multi – coloured flowers stared up at her from their beds, as if wondering what she was doing so late at night.

She took her usual route when she often went on escapades. Climbing up a tall tree with no difficultly, she dropped down over the hedge borders of the garden and ran through the deserted field next to it.

Stepping over the small style she found herself back on a path again. The silver moonlight streamed through the narrow streets of Athane, enhancing the different shades of colours in the cobbled stones.

She hid behind the corner of a house, to let a patrol of night sentries walk past with their burning torches. Annabeth considered it stupid that her father banned people from leaving their houses at night – what sort of law was that?

Disregarding that thought, she headed west towards the Mellay camp. Even from a distance, she could still see fires burning and people walking around or talking to each other. How was she going to get inside with so many people awake?

_Magic._ The voice in her head tried to tell her. _Magic. _No, she couldn't. She wasn't sixteen yet; she wouldn't be able to use it. Her father had banned magic under sixteen anyway – if someone saw her, she was going to be in deep trouble. Annabeth didn't want her father to hate her more than he already did.

Even so – there was no other option. Apart from going back to the castle. But all this effort? No, she was going to use this magic and it was going to work.

She ran closer towards the temporary tents that had been set up for the contestants. Some of them were already asleep but most were awake and chatting in groups.

If this spell ended badly, Annabeth was going to have a lot of angry highly skilled fighters baying for her blood.

She closed her eyes for a moment and summoned her energy. She could feel it, physically and mentally, it strengthened her body and mind.

There was a rustle of noise behind her; she quickly turned around, afraid that she was being followed.

There was silence and she could see nothing through the trees and houses.

Before she lost her confidence, she stepped forward into the entrance of the camp.

As if sensing her presence, every single pair of eyes looked at her. She heard the elves muttering to each other, as if amused and someone wolf whistled which caused an eruption of laughing.

Someone shouted out something highly inappropriate, which caused her to flush with anger. She raised her hands and channelled her power to them. _Sleep._

For a scary moment nothing happened.

More laughter. Though it sounded weak. The air starting turning foggy, which reminded her of the woods, she could feel the air getting denser but it didn't affect her.

Her hands shook from the power and exhaustion. She staggered forwards, beads of sweat popped onto her forehead.

Everything started moving in slow motion. The flags that had been flapping in the wind, moved abnormally slow. Elves' that had been standing up fell to the ground ten times longer than they should have.

Their eyes were drooping, it was working. She felt euphoria rise up inside her underneath her fatigue.

She stopped the enchantment and abruptly fell onto her knees to regain her breath. _Move_ she told herself. She was here for a purpose, not just to knock out the one hundred contestants for the Mellay. But the achievement brought a smile to her face, not many could say that their first spell was knocking out the best fighters on earth.

Hurriedly, she walked through the maze of snoring warriors; she was sincerely tempted to drop soil into their open mouths. That's what Travis would've done.

Panic suddenly rose up in her throat when she saw a perfectly awake figure walking towards her. Black hair...greens eyes.

She remembered him.

"Percy? You're still awake." she choked.

She could see him smiling. "You need a stronger magic to put me to sleep, wait...I know you," he sounded surprised. "You're the princess of Athane?"

"You're supposed to be dead," Annabeth stated. She still was getting over him being here. In flesh and blood.

Percy frowned. "Why would I be?"

Annabeth just stared at him. She could see his face properly now. Her mouth fell slightly open.

"Hello? Anyone there?" he smirked looking into her eyes.

"I – I... y- you, how?" She was transfixed by his face. He was beautiful in an eerie ethereal way, a timeless remote sort of face. But there was no doubt that he was an elf, she could see the points of his ears slightly peeping out of his messy black hair. So why did she feel such dread, just by standing in front of him? "You're supposed to be dead."

Percy frowned. "Really? I don't remember dying."

"B-but you were pulled into that lake when you saved me, you never came out!"

"I did come out," Percy said. "I can hold my breath for a long time."

How did he manage to sound so calm? Annabeth was mentally freaking out inside.

"It's not possible to hold your breath that long – you were down there for ages! I've been living in complete guilt these last few years and then you turn up as if everything alright it's -"

"Slow down, slow down – look I'm here now, it doesn't matter what's happened in the past, ok?"

She didn't know where her anger had come from, but it felt good unleashing it out, since she had always been taught never to talk back to people.

"You still haven't told me who you are," Annabeth fired back at him. "All you've said your name is Percy, you haven't explained who you are or how you could fight a fully grown mermaid on your own – with magic, _which is forbidden under sixteen_."

Percy looked shocked at her outburst. "Why should I explain myself to you?"

Annabeth glared her best glare at him, she saw him flinch slightly which made her feel a bit better. "Because I'm the Princess of Athane, my father is the king and he will personally punish you for using magic under sixteen."

"Where has this come from? I freaking saved your life and now you're going on about punishing me for using magic under sixteen? You're just as arrogant as every other king or queen."

That stung. "I'm not arrogant, I just believe in justice."

Percy sighed. "Ok, ok I understand. Can we just forget everything that's happened and start over again – what is the real reason you decided to come here?"

Annabeth breathed in. Why had she come here anyway? No, she couldn't say it. Not to him anyway.

"I wanted to know if you really were alive, _since I thought you were dead_."

"Good, and now you know that I'm alive, what are you going to do?"

He was seriously making it hard for her to control her anger. "I need answers; I'm not going to tell anybody. I just want to know how you are so skilled at magic."

Percy hesitated; Annabeth noticed he was fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

"Ok, I'll tell you. Do you want to sit down? You look shattered." Only then did Annabeth realise that she could barely stand on her feet. Her first spell had drained an incredible amount of energy from her.

She sat down on a small wooden chair that some bulky guy had fallen off and was now lying with his face in the ground.

"So tell me from the beginning," Annabeth said.

"Right, ok..." Percy hesitated again as if unsure of what to say. "There's not a lot to say actually, so don't get your hopes up."

Annabeth nodded.

"When I was born, my parents abandoned me in a cave," his voice wavered at the end. "I grew up on my own, I learnt how to feed and cook for myself..."

"Right..."

"Well anyway, when I was two, I was exploring the human villagers. It was the middle of winter and I was looking for someone to look after me...I didn't like being alone and cold in my cave. I remember looking into the humans small houses, there were bright colourful fires inside each one of them. They looked so comforting and warming..."

Annabeth gestured to go on.

"The humans called it fire; I kept looking at it through the windows. I wanted it for myself. I didn't realise my hand was covered in it until I looked down. There were flames all over my hands – it didn't burn me, I didn't scream. I just wanted more of it...but it wasn't until I was three years old I managed to create fire again." Percy let that sink in and then carried on. "I continued using magic, to fight off monsters and bandits...I usually help the captives of slave traders or thieves – then I leave them and they never see me again."

"That still doesn't explain how you managed to find your way through the fog and rescue me from the mermaid. Not even the most powerful elf can defeat one as quickly as you did."

Annabeth felt like she had stepped onto dangerous grounds.

"No, you just have to know their weakness."

"What is it?"

Percy gave her a crooked smile. "It's surprisingly simple; a smart girl like you can figure it out."

"Uurrgh, you're so frustrating. Thanks for the story but I really must be going now," she stood up on her horribly weak legs and started walking between the fallen warriors.

"Nice spell by the way!" Percy called. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Annabeth turned around to see Percy holding a pile of soil right over Prince Triton's mouth. She smirked.

Forgetting her weak legs she rushed back and carefully placed the soil in Tritons open mouth. At least he stopped snoring.

"I think we'd make a good team," Percy said, although Annabeth wasn't sure if he was being serious or not.

"Yeah," she replied, gazing at his face one last time before disappearing back to her castle.

**AN: Hi! just had enough time to finish this before school - i will try to write more tonight hopefully if i've got no homework! **


	9. Potions

"AHHHHHHHH!"

Annabeth jolted awake out of her slumber. Piper, her serving maid was standing wide eyed at the entrance to her bedroom chambers. Her laundry basket was on a heap on the floor in front of her; both of her hands covered her mouth as she stared down at...

"Thieves! Robbers! Bandits! Annabeth, what's happened?" Piper wrenched her gaze from the unconscious elves on Annabeth's floor. Their scarlet blood had soaked into the white carpet and had turned an ugly brown colour.

Annabeth recalled the adventures of last night. Someone had been in her room and had distracted the sentries whilst she legged it to the back door down to the gardens. Oh, she remembered now...

"Annabeth, my lady, what's happened? You've been attacked!" Piper wailed, close to hysteria.

Annabeth shook her head calmly. "No, someone else was in my room last night – the sentries spotted him and well...that happened, I suppose."

"Shouldn't we tell the King?" Piper said nervously, picking up her laundry and stepping carefully over the bodies.

"No...I don't know, but I will find out who was sneaking around in my room last night," Annabeth said with determination. Annabeth didn't even know how the person had got in. The windows were locked with magic and the sentries would know if someone went into her room.

The only people it could be are servants or a person disguised as a servant. Even then they would have to state their business to the sentries at the bottom of the stairs. The only other option was...Thalia. She was allowed in whenever she wanted; Annabeth had made that rule pretty clear to the sentries a long time ago.

But why would Thalia hide in her bedroom? Something was suspicious and Annabeth hated not knowing things.

However like everything else, Annabeth was going to find out.

* * *

Percy had two hours free time before the next Mellay started. He had no intention of staying in the training grounds where Triton was showing off his skills at magic and sword fighting and generally taking every opportunity to beat up as many elves as he could.

Instead Percy decided to visit Rachel. She of course had always been there for him when he was younger, even though maybe not in the way he preferred. Still, she was good company and he needed another dose of her potion.

This time he needed to remember to take extra with him. He knew he wasn't going to be able to keep going back and forth all the time. People would start getting suspicious and last was the last thing he had in mind.

Percy pulled on a brown woollen cloak and wrapped it around himself, to shelter from the sudden harsh wind. The sky looked as if there was a storm brewing, and there was a light drizzle in the air.

He looked back once at the training camp and saw Prince Triton kicking a defenceless elf, who lay dazed on the ground.

Percy's eyes flashed and darkened like a raging sea under dark clouds and wind, before he continued to exit the high wooden walls of the camp.

Behind him, he heard sudden laughter and jeering. Percy smirked when he turned around again and saw Tritons trousers loose around his ankles. His face was bright red and his blue eyes full of anger and humiliation. Even his friends were suppressing their amusement, behind shaking hands.

Before Triton could notice Percy, he smoothly turned a sharp right around a corner of a building. A mouth-watering smell emanated from the cosy inn on the market street. People bustled down the streets carrying bags or wallets safely tucked in their pockets – or maybe not so safely when he noticed two mischievous teenage elves nimbly plucking them back out.

Everyone was talking or chatting to some extent, they all looked so peaceful and carefree it made Percy slightly jealous. How he wished he could belong somewhere, but no...He is forever cursed to walk alone since there was no one in the whole world that could accept him for who he really is.

A blonde girl sidled up to him; her group of friends were standing giggling not far off.

"Hey handsome," she said twirling a loose strand of hair just a little bit too obviously.

"Hi," he replied politely, though he felt uncomfortable with her being so close.

"I watched you fight yesterday, you were A – Maz – zing! I mean...you were just like 'this is so eaaasy' _how _did you learn how to fight like that?"

Percy scratched the back of his neck, feeling slightly awkward. "Um...I guess I trained a lot."

"Who's your sword tutor? Mine's _terrible _he always goes on about how I'm a girl and shouldn't be allowed to fight – how sexist is that?"

"You sword fight?"

The girl huffed and looked exasperated. "Exactly! Everyone thinks I'm so weird for sword fighting, it's horrible. If only I had a good sword teacher then I could show everyone that girls can fight."

"Right ok?" Percy wasn't sure what she was getting at.

"I'm talking about you, idiot – _please please please _can you teach me – you'll be like the BEST sword instructor ever! I promise I won't let you down."

Percy wasn't entirely sure if she was leading him on or joking about the whole thing. "You're serious about this?"

"Of course!"

"Uh huh...I'm not sure when I can train you, since the Mellay and everything..." Percy said.

"The Mellay lasts three months and then you'll be free to train me then. Please, this is my dream," she gave him big eyes, sort of like what Percy did with Rachel. It always worked. He just never considered it backfiring on him.

"I'll train you, after the Mellay – I promise."

The girl smiled so wide, Percy wondered if it hurt her face. "Thanks so much! Message me by magic or something – I'm called Lacy, Lacy Beauregard – Silena Beauregard is my sister – do you know her? She went to live in Atlantia a few years ago. You came from Atlantia didn't you? I haven't seen you around Athane before."

Percy nodded, though he felt bad lying.

* * *

There was an awkward silence hanging in the air whilst she was eating breakfast. Annabeth's father the king was picking at his food and staring at her, as if he were trying to figure out something from her expression. That couldn't be good.

"Annabeth," his voice was cold and quiet. She hated when he spoke like that. "You've used magic haven't you?"

Annabeth froze. Jolts of fear suddenly racked down her spine, she couldn't meet her father's threatening glower.

"No, why do you think that?" she said, lying between her teeth hoping that he bought it.

Apparently not.

"I can sense the energy crawling all over you – and it's fresh, maybe six or seven hours old," his dark brown eyes pierced straight into her head. "You know there's a punishment for magic under sixteen don't you?"

Annabeth nodded. There was no point in arguing.

"Since you're my daughter I can't punish you fully for this -" his voice sounded like 'Oh, what a shame'. "I'm disappointed in you, Annabeth – I thought you knew how my laws work."

She nodded her head again, hoping to get out of the banquet hall as quick as possible.

"Answer me; don't nod like some mute fool."

Oh, so now nodding your head is against the law now? She thought bitterly. "Yes, father. I'm sorry father."

"You better be," her father growled. "I'm assigning you a bodyguard to watch your actions everywhere you go – until you learn to obey my commands."

"What!" Annabeth spluttered, choking on her glass of water.

Her father glared at her disapprovingly. "You should be grateful that I'm not giving you the full punishment – however if this un-lady like behaviour carries on, I might just reconsider that."

Annabeth swallowed. "Yes father, may I get down?"

The king nodded, she could feel his glare on her back as she left the banquet hall. She then raced up the stairs and flung open her chamber door. Throwing herself on her bed, she screamed into her pillow letting out every last drop of her emotions into the soft fabric.

* * *

Thalia sat down at her desk, scribbling down the events of last night.

_...an argument seemed to start but I couldn't hear what they were saying. In the end Annabeth sat down and..._

She twirled the feather quill in her fingers. Since there was no tuition today, that gave Mr Brunner heaps of time to runaway to his secret lair – or wherever he went on his own. Maybe he wasn't even up to anything. He could just be a red herring, leading Thalia off onto a wild goose chase. But still, she was desperate to know what was going on. She would find out, there was no way she was giving up.

She shut her leather scrap book and stood up. There was no point writing all this down, when Mr Brunner could be saddling his horse right now and venturing into places unknown.

Lifting a floor board up in her chambers, right next to her bed, she placed the scrap book inside and placed it back to normal.

Quickly getting on her outdoor clothes, Thalia ran down the stairs of her father's mansion and out of the front door. She briskly walked down the long driveway and made her way through the crowded streets.

"Hey Thalia!" One of the Stoll brother's ran up to her. She wasn't sure which though; they looked completely identical to her.

"Hey...er...Travis!"

"Connor," he corrected.

"I see you've got out of prison then," Thalia noted, she kept walking quickly. Connor was having trouble catching up with her.

"You heard about that?" he sounded surprised.

"Yeah, word spreads fast here in Athane – Annabeth told me...something about you two fighting over a certain girl, huh?" Thalia grinned knowingly.

"Yeah, yeah...anyway what I came to talk about – who is that guy you were with yesterday, huh? Care to explain?" Connor gave her a crooked smile.

Thalia flushed. "It's not what you think, he's -"

"That's what they all say, you can't fool me!" did Connor sound slightly disappointed underneath his carefree attitude? Thalia had not a clue.

"Think what you want, Con. See you later sometime," Thalia rushed off, leaving Connor in the market street.

She starting sprinting when she saw the palace stables in sight. The other Stoll brother waved at her as she dashed in. To her horror she found one stall empty. Mr Brunner must've already gone.

She ran out again. Travis looked at her confused.

"Has an elf with massive bushy eyebrows taken a horse today?" she panted.

Travis frowned in thought. "Yeah, he was here about an hour ago – said he was going to collect some rare herbs – what a weirdo. Why do you ask?"

Thalia groaned. He had gone an hour ago; she would never be able to follow him now. "It doesn't matter," she told Travis. "MM me if he comes again tomorrow, ok?"

"MM?"

"Magic messaging, keep up," Thalia said impatiently.

"Oh, right..." he didn't sound too sure. "Did you hear Piper this morning – I think she woke up half the castle with her screaming – it was so hilarious!"

"Piper?"

"Annabeth's serving maid, keep up," Travis told her, grinning. "Apparently she found two unconscious sentry guards lying in Annabeth's chambers when she went in this morning. I've been teasing her all morning about it!"

"Oh, ahh, that's cool," Thalia said. Hopefully no one knew that it was Thalia who had stabbed those two guards last night when she was following Annabeth. She probably should've moved them to a more obscure place. She'd have to remember that for next time...if there was a next time. "Are you going to Silena's wedding?" she asked randomly.

"You're good at changing the subject," Travis said. "Almost like you didn't want to talk about the last topic..."

Thalia laughed nervously. Travis' eyes widened. "I was only joking, you know! But, really is there something awesome you want to tell me about?"

"No, nothing," Thalia snapped and then left him standing alone by the stables.

"A bit temperamental today," she heard him say.

She rolled her eyes. If he figured it out, then by tomorrow the whole servants quarters would know about it – then Piper would know and Piper would tell Annabeth...who most likely would not be amused.

* * *

"Stop! Stop! You're stirring it wrong! Its anti – clockwise not clockwise...Gah, you've ruined the whole potion!" Rachel complained, pouring the vile looking liquid onto a very pretty looking bunch of flowers. Instantly they shrivelled up and disintegrated in the wind.

"See, that's what would've happened to you," Rachel told him with annoyance. "Now we have to start all over again."

"We were only on step 3," Percy reminded her.

"Exactly," Rachel said. She handed him a bunch of garlic's and half a mermaid tail. "Chop these up – _carefully_."

Percy held his breath when he smelt a whiff of the pungent odour of the tail. He picked up a sharp chopping knife and sliced it up in 1cm cubes. Blood splattered onto his clothes and fingers. Disgusting.

Rachel started boiling water on a newly lit fire and added a bunch of random things Percy had no clue what they were.

"Pass the tail cubes...thank you," she sprinkled them into the cauldron which made it turn a luminous shade of blue. "Now we stir it, this time I think I might since you don't have the capacity to stir anti-clockwise."

Percy decided not to take that to heart.

Rachel started chanting in a strange language, occasional speaking in the language of the mer, but apart from that it was gobble-de-goop.

"Pour three drops of goblin blood each at a five second interval," Rachel commanded.

Percy obliged.

"Perfect!" Rachel squealed, clapping her hands together. She took the potion off the heat and professionally poured the liquid in several glass bottles. "Take as many as you need, just be careful though - the more you take the more risk someone might discover it."

Percy nodded. There was no way percy was going to let someone spill his secret to the world.

"Good luck," Rachel said as he left her small strange house in the middle of nowhere. "You're going to need it."

**AN: hi! Thanks for reading everybody! Hope you like it... happy reading and review! **


	10. Arrogance

Percy stared around the arena in awe. It was completely different from yesterdays plain dusty ground. This time it was filled with luscious green grass, tall pines and a random pond here and there. Some colossal Venus fly traps were randomly dotted around the arena and Percy could sense hidden bombs planted in the ground ready for exploding wildly.

Out of the hundred contestants, now only fifty were competing in this event – the winners of the first challenge. At least now Percy didn't have to fight scarecrow anymore.

The King of Athane stood in the royal box looking down at the contestants. "Warriors, you shall each be assigned a partner to accompany you in this arena – both of you must defeat the twenty monsters that venture into the arena – the warriors with the fastest time will be ensured a place in the next challenge."

The spectators roared and applauded rowdily.

"Any warrior that falls unconscious will be at a risk of not making it to challenge three, am I understood?"

The contestants yelled their agreement.

The king signalled them to leave and Percy followed after them, giving Annabeth a quick smile who was sitting in the royal box next to a spiky black haired girl. The girl gave him a suspicious look but the door to the arena shut and blocked her from view.

Through the door, Percy could hear the monsters being let loose into the arena; they roared and screeched sending almost visible sound waves rippling through the air.

"Jason Grace and Chris Rodriguez."

A tall blonde haired elf pushed his way to through the contestants, a followed by another elf who carried a long bladed sword and shield with a picture of two snakes on the front.

The crowd cheered when they entered the arena, Percy caught a glimpse of a terrifying ten foot dragon roaring down at the two elves. Piece of cake. There was still plenty of room to move and manoeuvre around it, since the arena was just humongous.

"Thinking about the monsters in there?" he heard a malicious voice say.

"Not really."

Heracles laughed unpleasantly. "You should be worried, I've fought those monsters before – if I found them hard, you'll have no chance."

Percy's eyes flashed, he felt his power rise up in him. It took every last drop of his will power not to annihilate him where he stood.

"I'm not surprised you found them hard to kill – you haven't stepped one foot in the training grounds. Where have you been all night? Cuddling up in your safe warm mansion? Coward."

Heracles scowled at him. "I'll get you back for this, I'm the son of the Duke – so you better watch your words from now on."

Percy wrinkled his nose in disgust. "When you get a life." Though his threat still hung cold and fresh in the air.

Heracles' snorted and stomped away into the crowd of contestants, probably going to have another shouting match with Triton. Percy had no idea how people could get so conceited, it just seemed surreal to him.

He leaned against the arena wall; he could hear shouting on the inside. The crowd seemed to be going absolutely mental with screaming and yelling. He smiled to himself when he remembered the princess staring down at the arena with the most bored face he had ever seen. Thinking about her, he didn't even know her name. Maybe it was the stereo typical princess name – Isabella? Esmeralda...hmm that didn't really suit her at all.

He kicked a loose stone that was by his foot, it skidded a few meters away and clanged on something metallic. Percy leaned forward, curious. It was shaped like a compass, a small chain was threaded through the top of it, so it could hang like a necklace.

He stepped forward. Eight metres away...seven metres away...six, five, four...

"Persues Jackson and Triton Atlantia!"

Percy stopped and looked back. He could hear the crowd cheering in the arena. Only four metres away...he jogged forward and pocketed the small object. He wasn't even sure why he bothered, but something about it hummed with an unfamiliar energy. It intrigued him.

He quickly jogged back to the arena entrance; Prince Triton looked at him impatiently as if to say: 'What the hell were you doing? We've got a fight to win."

The drums started playing as Percy entered the wild arena, the large double doors closed behind him with a bang. He could sense a strong layer of magic that protected the spectators. Great, now he was in a cocoon of energy with his best buddy Triton.

Well...that just made his day.

"Let me do all the fighting – I don't want you to embarrass yourself," Triton tried to say that kindly, but it came out like 'I want all the attention to myself...Mwhahahahahahah!'

"I don't think it's me who should be worried about being embarrassed..." Percy muttered, remembering when Triton's trousers fell down in the middle of beating up a contestant. And Percy had absolutely nothing to do with it, nothing whatsoever...not.

Doors suddenly opened from the sides of the arena. Monsters poured out, one after the other – roaring in hunger for blood.

"So...you take the left flank I'll take the right?" Percy said, trying to make tactics.

"I'm not taking orders from you, peasant," Triton spat arrogantly. "I'll kill as many as I like."

"Fine, but you're going to regret it," Percy knew that there was no possible way Triton could defeat at least over ten of these monsters. They were too powerful for him. He'd be exhausted by the eleventh one.

Percy on the other hand, could probably disintegrate every single monster with one simple spell. Being half fish did have its perks.

He started running to the right, dodging the trees that always seemed to be right in the middle of his path. It felt too realistic in the arena except fake at the same time. The trees were too tall to be natural, they must have been made from magic and there were no Venus fly traps in the whole world that were as big as the ones here. These ones could probably gobble up six elves in one go.

Hmm...Nasty images...

There was a sudden screech behind him; a leathery abnormally large bat was zooming right towards him. In front of him was a gigantic sized monster, with grey legs and head but a golden lion's body. It was charging right at him. He had a split second decision.

Before the two beasts could slaughter him, he summoned the winds and shot straight into the air. The two monsters collided with each other, each screaming at about two hundred decibels. The withered old bat shrivelled up like a prune and turned into a nasty looking splodge on the ground. The ugly hybrid monster looked up at Percy, with his mashed up face in rage. Percy let go of the winds and he shot straight back down to earth, performing a full backwards somersault and landed on the creatures' hairy backside.

It reared in fury. It obviously wasn't used to being ridden on like a horse. Ah well...better late than never. The monster unexpectedly started charging towards a tree, Percy shot out a hand and the tree burst in water, giving the hybrid horse an unanticipated shower. It started screaming and legged it towards the nearest monster it could find.

A fully grown, fire breathing, leather winged dragon.

The crowd was screaming in excitement. Although Percy didn't really understand what was the exciting part. A dragon? Couldn't the king have come up with something _less _stereotypical to fight? He already knew the dragon's weakness, since he had defeated its kin countless amounts of time. He lifted his new hybrid into the air with him and catapulted them both straight into the dragon's mouth.

He heard screaming in the distance but the dragon had already closed his mouth. It was just like he had remembered. The throat was a dark unwelcoming purple, but he needed to go down there...

He discarded his new horse and sent it tumbling down the giant oesophagus and then slid down the gut, like it was a slide. He was covered in blood, but he could deal with that later. Percy timed the seconds...one...two...three...four...five...now! He stabbed his dagger at the side of the gut and hung from the momentum of the fall. He sliced through the sinews and tissue, a rush of blood started pouring out of the gap. Percy climbed up; he could see the enormous ribs that were at least ten times bigger than him. He cast a spell to shield the blood from his eyes and then...he started climbing.

* * *

Annabeth's hands were over clasped around her mouth in horror. Panic flooded into her, butterflies started in her stomach. Percy had been in the dragon far too long. There was no way he could've survived.

The spectators were muttering to each in doubt, they didn't know what to make of this. Most of them were shaking their heads in disappointment. No one in the history of the Mellay's had survived the dragon; there was no reason why it should be different this time.

The contestants didn't have to defeat the dragon; it was there for bonus points for the competition and an obstacle to make fighting the other monsters more of a challenge. The last contestant's both had been defeated and knocked out by the dragon even though they had put up a good fight.

Each monster had a weakness and so far nobody knew what this gigantic winged creatures' was. Her gaze drifted to Prince Triton, her fiancé. He was in a bad condition with numerous cuts and scrapes all over his body; he looked up at the dragon with a look of repulsion. He was in the middle of fighting a three headed mastiff that was currently drooling a river of saliva on top of him.

Annabeth didn't think she'd look at him the same way again. Absent minded, she started counting the seconds...one...two...three...four...five...

* * *

...Six. The sixth rib. He could see the heart now, golden and pumping; its massive arteries were the size of Percy. They were diminutive in comparison to the dragon. Percy leaned inwards, he plunged his dagger right inside the heart. He pressed deeper, the dragon was roaring loader and louder. Percy twisted the dagger sharply and withdrew it. The rib cage started shaking, he held on to the sixth rib as cracks suddenly raced up the cage and organs. Blood was gushing heavily done upon him; he held his breath for the smell was overwhelming. The dragon was roaring from the outside in complete and utter agony. Brilliant.

Then everything burst apart, he was thrown into the air – for a split second he felt a sense of freedom, every worry and care was left behind on the ground. He loved every moment...until he started falling. The grounds rushed towards him, every single pair of eyes were on him. He was heading straight into...a pond.

NO!

He manoeuvred to the left but it wouldn't work – he couldn't fall into a full body of water, not here, not now. Suddenly something swooped down and grabbed his body. Relief swept through Percy, he twisted out of the flying monsters' beak and snapped it in two. It screeched in pain and started plummeting to the ground. Percy leapt off just in time; he landed perfectly with both feet on the ground.

The audience went crazy and applauded like mad. Everyone was up on their feet from their stone seats, cheering wildly.

What was the big deal? All he had done was kill a dragon he had killed many times before. It wasn't like it was _that _hard.

There was a sudden presence behind him, quick as a snake he slashed off its neck before he had the chance to see what it was. Thick red blood splattered on his already stained clothes and in his knotted hair.

He lost track of time after that, he charged at every monster he faced and slaughtered it like a pig. It was as though they weren't even trying to fight back, some even cowered under the tree at the sight of him. The small sign of humility made him feel slightly sorry for the beasts. Unlike Triton who was screaming every possible insults at them between his laboured breaths.

The drums started banging again. The challenge was over. His adrenaline still pumped through his veins. Together, they had defeated every single monster, which was a new record for Athane. Prince Triton glared at him, his face was dripping with sweat and there was a nasty gash on his forehead.

"Well that was fun," Percy told him cheerfully. He briskly left the arena with a humiliated Prince lagging behind.

* * *

"Persues was like so incredible!" Silena gushed; she was in the middle of plaiting Annabeth's curly blonde hair.

"I know," Annabeth said dazedly. "He knew the dragons' weakness, _no one_; I mean literally _no one _has ever figured it out -"

"I know! Simply breath taking - literally! I was holding my breath the entire time he was inside the dragon and then when he burst out of it – that was just...wow."

"He was covered in blood," Annabeth pointed out. The memory floated back in her mind.

"Aww, you're still squeamish about blood aren't you! I remember, even when it's only the littlest thing, you still cringe dramatically! Remember that time when I got a paper cut and the tiniest drop of blood dripped out – you like ran for miles," Silena laughed, she finished tying the plait with a silky red ribbon.

"I was five at the time, that was when I was absolutely terrified of it. Anyway you made it worse by trying to wipe it on my face – just ewwww!"

"I was five at the time as well – I think we were both a little crazy," Silena giggled.

"You still are! I bet you've paired up every couple in Atlantia – you're mad about love, always have, always will."

Silena considered. "I haven't paired up _every _couple, although that would be a dream come true, but now two hundred elves are in forever debt to me for sorting out their love lives."

"TWO HUNDRED PEOPLE? Is that like _all _you ever do?"

Silena looked shocked. "Of course not! I've set up one of my Dad's chocolate shops in one of the streets – you will not believe how many elves love chocolate!"

"Wow! That's amazing! My father hardly ever buys chocolate, it's so unfair."

Silena frowned. "You should definitely persuade him, chocolate is so nice! But enough about chocolate – we need to do wedding plans!"

She opened her massive scrapbook on the inn bed. "What flowers are we having? Katie's mother sells flowers doesn't she? It will be nice to meet her again."

"Put down lilies, roses, tulips and we must have hydrangeas and peonies."

Silena started writing speedily into the book. "Lilies, roses, tulips..."

"Hydrangeas and peonies," Annabeth prompted.

"Got it. Now for the bridesmaids – there's so many I don't know who to choose!"

"Put down Hazel, you were her friend when you were younger, she'll remember you. She'll be what? Thirteen? Twelve?"

"Thirteen, her birthday's just passed," Silena said.

"How do you remember that? It's just strange," Annabeth replied in awe.

Silena shrugged. "I have no idea. Who else shall I put on the list?"

"Thalia? You know her don't you? She'll be delighted to be your bridesmaid," Although Annabeth wasn't sure what Thalia would think when she would be forced to wear a dress. Her father, the duke didn't care what she wore, so Annabeth always saw her in her tomboy clothing. She wished her father would let her do the same.

"Ok, I'll put her down on the list – what about Katie? I've known her for _ages_; it would be mean if I didn't put her down."

Annabeth agreed with her. "Yeah, that's fine."

Silena printed Katie's name out in her small elegant handwriting. She stopped writing and studied Annabeth. There was a five second silence.

"What are you going to do about you arranged marriage?" She said it completely out of the blue.

Annabeth bit her lip nervously. "I don't know...I don't know what to do."

* * *

Thalia sighed. All her efforts to unveil Mr Brunner's secret were for nothing. She hadn't noticed anything else suspicious about him. His recent trips to the forest could just mean he was actually collecting herbs like Travis said.

She felt slightly foolish for leading herself on like that. Thalia didn't know what to think now. Was he really up to something? Or not?

She rested her head on her hand and flicked through the pages in her scrapbook. She read and re read all of the information she had written down.

_...was extremely mad and kept muttering random words. I couldn't make any sense of it, it's like he's in his own dream world. I don't get how a heart break can turn you insane – it's really creepy but I..._

Thalia stopped reading. Leo had confused her an incredible amount. She secret wondered who he really is or where he came from. He couldn't have lived in that underground lair all his life and that goblin had told him about his heart break. Leo must've been somewhere different to actually experience it.

This was driving her insane, just like Leo. The constant thinking about the mystery was hurting her head. Even if Mr Brunner was up to nothing, she had to prove that first before she made any judgement.

Guilty until proven innocent.

She re read another diary entry.

_Mr Brunner carried a book in his hand as he walked through the courtyard..._

It must be another clue. But to Thalia it led nowhere. She carried on reading, hoping to find an answer to this messed up jigsaw puzzle.

_...never seen her perform magic before, it was the biggest sleeping enchantment I have ever seen..._

How had Annabeth harnessed her power so early? She wasn't even sixteen. Thalia's first spell was lighting a fire and even that drained a lot of energy from her. Jealously started to build up inside her, but she tried to push it back down.

Sighing, she shut the scrapbook shut and placed it back in her secret compartment. She shut the long black curtains that contrasted with the pale white room. She swiftly changed into her night gown; it was the only dress she ever allowed herself to wear.

She flung her day clothes on the floor of her bedroom chambers; she wasn't bothered to put them neatly in the cupboards. She lifted her duvet of her bed...and jumped back in horror. Any other person would've screamed but Thalia glared at the figure in irritation.

"Luke, just what do you think you're doing?"

"Sleeping...Mmmhmm..." he started snoring, how had she not noticed him before?

"Get. Out. Of. My. Bed." She growled.

A streak of black snot trailed down her pillow. Urggh. Maybe it was better to sleep on the floor tonight. Thalia got a spare blanket and pillow out of her wardrobe and curled up on her mat next to the fire.

An owl hooted outside as the kingdom of Athane fell asleep. Little did they know what troubles were lying in wait for them.

**AN: Hi, thanks for reading again - i'm thinking about merging the first few chapters together to make larger chapters, just a thought. Read and review! Au revoir!**

**Cocoa :)**


	11. The Melody

The bulky muscular man was at least twice her size. He towered over her, making her feel small and insignificant. He wore light armour that looked good for blocking arrows and moving quickly. On the other hand it looked several sizes too small for him, which must have been exceptionally painful. His black military cut hairstyle was short and intimidating, a nasty scar trailed up his forehead. To everyone else, his eyes appeared a murky brown, but whenever his eyes reflected the light of something, they swirled into a ferocious red. Annabeth stood as tall as she could in front of him, trying not to look helpless and frightened. She lifted her chin in a cliché princess manner.

His hand gripped the hilt of his sword, Annabeth stiffened. Slowly and cautiously he finger by finger released the handle. It was as if to say 'I'm the boss, you can't order me around'

King Frederic stepped forward; his eyes were sharp and serious. An aura of red outlined his body, how had no one ever noticed that? Maybe it was Annabeth's imagination.

"This is your new bodyguard, Ares. You are not allowed to harass him, pester him and you must always follow his orders – since his orders are from me. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, Father."

"Excellent. Today you are not allowed to go out of the castle; Ares will be monitoring that for me. You will go to you lessons and then attend the court room with me this afternoon, four o'clock sharp."

Annabeth nodded, she gritted her teeth. "Yes, Father."

"You may leave now, I have more important things to be present at," Annabeth wanted to scream. Was she not important to him? She was his only child, why did he make her feel like an outcast or stranger. It was like he hated her, it was like he never wanted her as a child. Maybe he wanted a son.

All she wanted now was her mother. She had always imagined her mother to be warm, kind and loving. The complete opposite of her father. She wanted someone to go to in times of hurt or pain, someone she could trust and tell all her inner thoughts and emotions to.

Instead the emotions stayed locked inside of her. They weren't going to be relieved any time soon. Her father hadn't told her anything about her mother, maybe she wasn't even dead...or maybe she was.

When Annabeth was younger, she thought that elves were indestructible. They were unable to be harmed or killed, or die of old age. But now she had grown up, she realised that maybe she didn't want to live in this world forever, stuck with an arrogant prince for company.

Annabeth curtsied politely for her father and left the stunning grand hall, she could hear her bodyguards' heavy footsteps behind her. It made her feel her feel protected...more like stalked.

Annabeth resisted the urge to start running, it was unnerving having a massive skilled man walk in her footsteps and she didn't like it one bit.

She jogged faster than usual up the curved broad stair case and into her tutor room. She opened the door and saw Thalia leaning back in her seat like usual – but something was wrong with her expression. Her eyes seemed guarded as if she were suspicious of every single thing in the small room. Annabeth caught her gaze and felt like a rabbit being caught in a snare. Thalia stared at her with such suspicion it made her feel self conscious. Thalia was almost certainly overreacting about something; she'd get over it...probably.

Ares, Annabeth's bodyguard followed her into the room and stood at the door; part of her felt sorry for him, to have to spend every single second of the day with her. And today was not going to be interesting for him...at all. The next Mellay tournament started next week, so there was going to be absolutely nothing for him to look forward too.

Oh well, it's only for three months until Annabeth turns sixteen. Before this arranged marriage had started, Annabeth had actually been looking forward to her sixteen and most important birthday. She'd rather live without magic than live with Prince Triton.

Annabeth sat gracefully down on her wooden chair and placed her pencils and notebook on her desk. The texture of the wood had been drawn countless amounts of times with random scribbles and shapes etched permanently into the table.

She opened her notebook and tried not to feel intimidated by the huge bodyguard that stood about two metres away...

Thalia leaned over and whispered in her ear. "I see you've got new company, what have you done now?"

Annabeth looked hesitantly at Mr Brunner who was writing the task for today on the board.

"Father assigned me a bodyguard – he doesn't want me to get into any trouble, how annoying is that?"

Thalia wrinkled her nose, as if she were imagining having a bodyguard watching her every move. "That's stupid, what sort of things does he think you'll do. It's not like you're trying to start a rebellion or anything like that."

There was a hidden meaning under her words. Annabeth detected it straight away, though she wasn't sure what Thalia was insinuating. She noticed that her aura was a suspicious orange that mixed contrastingly with her natural dark blue glow.

"No, he's just being paranoid," Annabeth didn't think it was safe to tell her the truth now. What with her bodyguard being here listening to every word she said. There was no way she was going to survive these next few months.

"Ok class, open up your books and write the heading mermaids."

Thalia looked sceptically at Mr Brunner.

"Mermaids? There's no such thing as mermaids, they're just myths from your mythology books...aren't they Annabeth?"

Annabeth bit her lip.

"Annabeth?" Thalia said again, her aura started glowing a stronger orange.

"Yes, they're completely made up," Annabeth said vaguely, though it sounded like she was lying. Mr Brunner looked at them both calmly, not deterred by their opinions.

"Can you prove that Annabeth? Thalia?" he said seriously.

Thalia gaped at him. "You don't seriously think they actually are _real_? They're just legends that have been passed down for centuries and centuries."

Annabeth nodded, though she wasn't sure why. Maybe she didn't want any of them to find out that she had seen one in real life.

"Or so people think," Mr Brunner said. "We're going to look into a study of mermaids and at the end of the topic, then you can decide whether they exist or not."

"This is ridiculous," Thalia groaned.

Mr Brunner ignored her. "Now can any of you tell me anything you already know about mermaids?"

Thalia put her hand in the air.

"Yes?"

"They don't exist."

"That's an opinion, Thalia, not a fact," Mr Brunner sighed. Annabeth put her hand up, she remembered the mermaid as if she had just seen it yesterday.

"Yes, Annabeth?"

"Mermaids are the most dangerous of species; they are the only creatures in the world that can truly kill elves. They generally habitat the sea although they can go on land if they want."

"Excellent, Annabeth."

Thalia snorted.

"But also mermaids cannot survive on land for long – the maximum a mermaid can live on land is twelve hours. If they stay out longer, they body automatically shuts down – it's kind of like being turned into stone for elves."

Annabeth jotted down the notes in her book, Mr Brunner let her finish before he started again. He flicked through a thickly bound book that had fading yellow pages and miniscule writing all over it.

"Mermaids can use magic just like us, but to a more powerful extent. An elf against one mermaid would lose considerably since mermaids have a bigger energy field. There have been no records of anybody killing a mermaid and if one day the time comes they group together and wage war on us...well that would be the end of the entire elfish nation."

"This is stupid," Thalia stated.

"We're leaving our opinions to the end, Thalia," Mr Brunner reminded her sternly.

Annabeth put her hand up. "Sir, how can mermaids wage war on us if you say that only elves and humans had a soul?"

"Excellent question, my dear. It is just like any other creature. Take a pack of wolves for example, when the alpha wolf howls, they all answer it and fight alongside it. It's just like mermaids. Whenever a ruling mermaid calls war upon earth, all the mermaids will answer the call," Mr Brunner explained.

"Who is the ruling mermaid?" Annabeth asked curiously.

Mr Brunner's expression darkened. "I have no records to say who she is."

Annabeth nodded. But she detected a lie in his voice and there was a distance look in his eyes. Thalia leaned forward intriguingly; she apparently had heard the lie as well. Unless Thalia was just suspicious of everything.

"Anyway, where was I ...ah yes, so power is usually formed..."

Mr Brunner kept talking about the confusing complex powers of mermaids and how they used it...blah, blah, blah. But for once, Annabeth wasn't interested. All she wanted to know, was how Percy had managed to kill a mermaid..._when he was ten._ According to Mr Brunner it wasn't possible.

She had a feeling there was a lot more strange goings on than she realised.

* * *

"Katie!" Silena hugged her long lost friend with elation.

"Silena! How are you?" Katie grinned widely, she looked like an almost exact copy of her mother.

"I'm great! I've now got a fiancé – he's totally hot by the way – and he's all the way from Atlantia!" Silena laughed.

"Tell me all about it – come into the back room, my mother's just arranging some pansies in there."

Silena followed Katie through her small but sweet little flower shop and into a cosy living room. A fire flickered in the hearth that smelt strangely of lavender. She sat down at a small coffee table and stared happily around the room.

"Would you like some tea?" Katie offered, getting up to a work surface where random bunches of flowers were lying.

"Yes, please, that would be lovely."

Katie's mother turned around from tying her flowers together. "Silena, it's been a while since I last saw you."

Silena smiled and gave the woman a hug. Demeter looked like she was in her twenties, but Silena knew better. She smelt of fresh bread and cereal, it suited her perfectly.

"Yes! I can't believe it's been just over ten years since I last saw you," Silena sat back down at the table. Katie arrived back with two warm cups of tea.

"It feels like _forever_," Katie said, Silena smiled at her new attitude. This was no longer the shy nervous girl she used to know, she could tell that Katie was opening up more to people. "So tell me about this boy? When's the wedding?"

Katie's mother looked surprised. "You're getting married, my, you've grown up so quickly."

"Yes, the wedding is going to be in about one month – I've hardly got any time to prepare," Silena's eyebrows creased when she thought about all the planning she had to do.

"I can help you, I'd be delighted too. My mother will put the price of flowers down for you," Katie nudged her mother.

"What? Oh, yes of course. Please feel free to take as much cereal you can eat as well – hardly anybody eat it these days. They all go for the chocolate shops, how despicable. I don't even know why, I mean chocolate is so unhea -"

"Yes, I think she understands, mother," Katie interrupted. She took a small sip of her tea. "So where is it going to be? Who are you inviting?"

"It's going to be down at the grove, it'll look so beautiful! All those willow trees and luscious green grass – it's perfect. I'm inviting _all _of my friends: Annabeth, Thalia, Travis, Connor, Piper etcetera. I was hoping that you could be one of my bridesmaids?"

"Of course! I've never been a bridesmaid before," Katie said smiling. "It will be so lovely to see everyone again, all together – just like we use to when we were younger."

Silena sighed dreamily. "Yeah, it will be fantastic – that reminds me, I need to go and buy the dresses, Eeek! So much to do!"

"Oh, let me help – I've got some time off work right now. I'd love to help."

"Thanks so much, I really couldn't have planned this wedding without you or Annabeth," Silena wrapped her hands around her mug, soaking in the warmth. "How's your work then right now? I heard that you're now working in the palace kitchens – is it nice?"

Katie pondered. "It's ok, a little bit dull I suppose. But great news! I've been promoted a job as a maid servant for the king of Atlantia – that means I get to go back to Atlantia with you!"

"What? Really, that's great! I can show you all around it, Atlantia is _so _beautiful. You will not believe your eyes, it's amazing!" Silena said, exhilarated that one of her best friends was going back to Atlantia with her.

"Wow, I can't wait," Katie said with pleasure. "Come on, let's go and get your dresses."

Silena quickly gulped down her tea and put left in on the table. She waved goodbye to Demeter, who promptly waved back with a bunch of sunflowers in her hands. Katie led her down back into the front of the shop. Row after row of flowers decorated the room, filling it with a sweet scent of plants. A 50% off sign was standing next to a large jar, full to the brim with cereal.

Katie noticed her looking at it. "Yeah, my mother is _still _completely obsessed with cereal."

"I can tell," Silena replied, noticing the ten other massive jars of cereal around the small neat shop.

A small bell rang as Katie opened the door and stepped out into the busy street, full of bustling people with their shopping.

Children ran across the road, playing hide and seek with their friends. It reminded Silena of good times when she was younger. She could hear a busker playing a lively jig on a violin somewhere down the street, it blended perfectly with the noise and chatter in the air.

A boy was pushing his way towards them, Silena recognised him.

"Silena, you're back," he stepped forward and gave her a hug, Silena hugged him back though she felt a movement in her pocket.

"Give it back, Connor," she said playfully, holding out her hand. Connor smirked and held up her wallet, at first she thought he was going to keep it, until he placed it back in her hand. She closed her fingers over it and carefully put it back in her coat pocket. "Where's Travis, by the way? I thought you two were inseparable."

Connor looked mischievously at Katie, who blushed a deep shade of red. "We had a...fall out – nothing to worry about."

"It certainly didn't sound like a fall out – more like a full on battle. You and Travis were fighting like a pair of idiots," Katie scolded, although her face was still pink.

"That's a good thing though. Who doesn't want to be an idiot, huh? If no one is idiotic, then they haven't lived," Connor shot back and winked slyly at Katie.

"What's going on?" Silena asked curiously. She could sense a love triangle forming in front of her eyes.

Katie opened her mouth to speak but Connor beat her too it. "Travis was getting a little territorial about a certain girl here...ha you should've seen his face – priceless! So basically, this little girl here can't seem to make up her mind between the two of us and sometime soon Travis is going to start losing interest -"

"Wait, what!" Katie looked panicked. Silena muffled a laugh at her expression.

"Travis is one of those boys who fall in love easily, when he realises that you're not going to take the message – well he's going to move on before he can fall in love anymore."

Katie looked devastated. "But I'm moving to Atlantia – I've got a job there, it's not going to work."

Connor shrugged unhelpfully. "Not my problem, sweet cheeks."

"Thanks," Katie said sarcastically.

"Hold on a moment, Connor, do you and Travis both love Katie then?" Silena put in.

Connor laughed. "Travis does, but I don't – no offense – but you're not my type of person," he told Katie. She nodded, though she didn't seem that bothered about it.

"I think you should go now, Silena and I have to go somewhere," Katie said, pulling Silena along with her.

"Bye! I'll tell Travis that you're moving to Atlantia then," Connor called.

Katie turned around. "Don't you dare," she yelled over the noise of the market street.

"Whatever!"

"Ahh, he's so annoying," Katie complained as they made their way into the perfume scented dress makers shop.

* * *

"How did you even end up with him in the first place?"

Luke sniffed and thought whilst he wiped he sleeve under his nose. Thalia tried hard not to cringe.

"I was a regular elf, just like you are now and I was trying to go off on an adventure. I use to be such an adventure seeker – I wanted to achieve things that hadn't been done before, so I strayed into Maladroit Forest. Apparently there was some scary monster hidden in there that everyone was scared of. Of course I went out to find it...alone. All I had with me was my sword and shield – I thought I saw something move in-between some trees, I couldn't tell for sure since the ground was all high and low with millions of rocks everywhere.

"I heard footsteps behind me, I summoned up my magic and spun around to face my opponent. I thought it was a monster, but it turned out to be a gang of children – they all had a strange orange aura around them..." Luke sniffed again. Thalia handed him a tissue, which he blew his nose like a trumpet on it. "So, ok...back to the story. I killed them all but one of them had left me a nasty wound on my back –the scar is still there now, do you want to see it?"

"Uh, no thanks – it's ok," Thalia said hastily.

"Ok. Well after that I fell unconscious and when I woke up I found myself in an underground lair. This mad man called Leo started experimenting on me – for about five days until he turned me into...this," Luke gestured to his body.

"How did you find out that he had a broken heart?" Thalia pressed on, trying to get more information.

"I heard him muttering to himself about random things – he often mentioned names but he kept telling himself he couldn't remember. After that I put all of it together and then realised what he had been suffering from." Luke's wide red eyes stared sincerely into hers. Thalia wondered what he looked like before he was a goblin.

"So how are we going to change you back to an elf and heal Leo's mind?"

Luke hesitated. "I don't know, we need magic – definitely. But it has to be strong, very, _very _strong. Leo himself doesn't know how to turn me back, so even if we do cure him – I'll still be a goblin."

"Who do you think could cure you? The king?" Thalia fiddled with the carpet by her foot. She was sitting cross legged next to her bedroom fire, with Luke sitting opposite her.

"Your tutor you sometimes talk about, he sounds like he might be useful. He does do a lot of research on mythical creatures, doesn't he?"

"Too much," Thalia muttered, remembering her lesson this morning about mermaids. It was a complete waste of time, she didn't even understand why she had to learn about mermaids – although Annabeth seemed quite interested in them.

"I think you should follow him, see what he does in his spare time – it might be useful information," Luke suggested, blowing his nose again into the already used tissue.

"But I have been trying though and it's not working! He keeps disappearing before I get the chance to follow him," Thalia retorted.

"Then go to his actual chambers and follow him from there – see if he makes potions in there, or if he keeps anything suspicious in his bedroom...I don't know, but just try it."

"Fine, I will. But for my benefit, not just yours – I need to know if he's getting up to something behind our backs," Thalia said.

Luke nodded, his small grubby face solemn.

* * *

The water swirled around her, shoals of fish shot past trying to stay clear of her. She felt a lust for blood, she hadn't eaten in a few days and many elves steered clear of the ocean. She swam closer towards the wooden harbour in front of her. She could see the jetty legs buried in the sand from underwater, algae was growing up the sides.

Her senses went crazy when she smelt fresh blood pumping steadily through a fisherman's veins. He was sitting at the end of the jetty, with a fishing pole in his hands.

In a shower of water droplets, she poked her head through the water. The air rushed to meet her and filled her lungs with a different type of oxygen. The fisherman suddenly looked out at the sea, he gazed at her, hypnotised by her beauty. She was the most exquisite creature he had ever seen in his life.

A soft melody escaped her lips as she started singing, slowly weaving magic into her words as she sang in the language of the Mer. The fisherman dropped his mouth open in awe, his fishing rod fell into the water as his hands loosened its grip. His blue eyes glazed over and he jumped into the water and unconsciously started wading towards the mermaid.

A smile tugged at her lips, this was how it was meant to be. She was the predator and she was going to show her prey that there was no one better.

His heart beat steadily, it was closer now. She reached out and gripped the man's arm, he didn't even react. On his face was a dreamy smile, he kept smiling as she pulled him under the surface of the water.


	12. First deaths

A figure stepped out into the dark courtyard, he avoided the centre where the moonlight streamed in through the buildings and turrets. He kept close to the line of pillars that stood on the left hand side of the square quad. He crept along the side of the battlement, just out of view from the night guards that stood at the entrance with their flaming torches.

He was careful to tread lightly on the stone cobbled ground, since the walls had a tendency to echo at even the smallest sound. A curtain moved in a window of a tower, he pressed himself closer into the wall. He waited five seconds before moving again, sneaking around half the perimeter of the yard.

A black cat scampered out of a doorway and ran off into the darkness. The sentry guards noticed it as it went past, he took the opportunity to attack.

As quick as a flash, he unsheathed his sword and stabbed the first guard in the back before he had the chance to cry out. The guard tumbled silently to the ground at the feet of his companion, who looked up at him with a mixture of terror and rage. The guard placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, but he was too slow.

The stranger's sword stabbed smoothly into his belly and he too joined his friend on the courtyard entrance. Blood soaked into their tunics and leaked out onto the floor, their faces were deathly pale and their breathing was becoming less frequent.

The dark robed figure stepped over the bodies and stole a horse from the stables, then he left as silently as he had come, vanishing into the night.

* * *

"Stand back! Stand back everyone!" The king pushed his way to the front of the horrified crowd. He gazed down at the two unmoving bodies, with no emotion.

"My lord, my lord! What are we meant to do? We are no longer safe in our own kingdom," an elf said, her eyes full of fright and alarm.

"How can this be possible, my lord?" another villager trembled.

Series of complaints starting erupting from the gathered crowd of elves. Annabeth looked at her father's reaction.

"This case will be investigated, but until then there is nothing we can do about it. Go back to your homes and remember to keep your doors locked and your windows shut. Whatever this was, it's going to strike again," her father said sternly to the petrified audience.

Cries and outburst started filling the air, some women and children were crying openly. This was the first time they had ever seen a dead body before. And it scared them immensely.

"Enough," The king ordered. "I want everyone to get out of the courtyard and let us deal with this matter."

The crowd went silent and started dispersing out the entrance, giving their last respects to the deceased night sentries.

King Frederic waved his group of knights over. "Take these bodies to the physician, tell him to find the cause of their deaths."

"Yes, my lord," they picked up the burly sentries with ease. The dead bodies lay limp in the knight's arms. Annabeth looked away at the gruesome sight, she was sure that she was going to have nightmares tonight.

She saw a black cat watching her from the side of the courtyard with wide green eyes. It was partially hid behind a pillar but still visible.

Looking back at the crime scene, she saw thick viscous blood still on the cobble stones, a few grisly bits of flesh lay floating in the red liquid. A sudden lurch in her gut made her step forwards. She could taste her breakfast trying to make a reappearance. She felt it come up again, doubling over she coughed her vile puke on...her bodyguard's boots.

Annabeth wiped her mouth and looked up apologetically. Ares looked like he was trying to choke something down his throat.

A hand on her shoulder suddenly made her jump. She spun around on the spot and found herself looking into swirling green eyes...

"Hey, are you ok?"

"No, what does it look like?" Annabeth eyed the pile of yellow sick on the stone ground.

"Ok, ok, no need to be so irritated," Percy stepped backwards slightly, giving her breathing room. She stared at his face again, drinking in his perfect features...

"Hello? Can you stop doing that? It's a little bit unnerving," Percy clicked his fingers in front of her face.

Annabeth snapped out of her trance. "Don't do that, and you can't tell me what to do."

"Fine, I was only being nice," Percy turned to leave.

"Wait, don't go," Annabeth gripped his wrist, out of nowhere a spark jolted up her spine. Percy must've felt it too, his eyes widened, surprised.

"What?" he said.

Annabeth felt her bodyguard approaching them from behind.

"Meet me tonight at ten pm at the stables, I still have questions," she whispered hurriedly.

Percy nodded slowly. "O...k."

"My lady, is he bothering you?"

Annabeth looked up at her bodyguard. "No, it's fine...he's a friend from a long time ago."

Ares grunted and stepped backwards.

"I've told you everything I know," Percy said, but Annabeth knew he was lying. She could see the tightness in his jaw that gave it all away.

"Yeah, do you really expect me to believe that?" Annabeth snarled, she hated liars – even gorgeously handsome ones.

"Um...yeah. Well, see you around, Wise girl," Percy started walked back down the courtyard.

"Wise girl?" Annabeth said, the nickname did not help with her temper.

Percy turned around and gave her a crooked smile, that made her heart leap. Annabeth pushed those feelings down, it wouldn't be any good to feel this way, whilst she was engaged.

"You better remember to meet me, or I'm going to find out myself," she called. Her irritation rose when he didn't look back.

With a murderous look in her eyes, she stormed back into the palace, with her bodyguard trailing behind her. She didn't even know why she was so angry, at the moment all she felt was a mixed jumble of feelings. And she absolutely hated being confused.

Annabeth stopped walking suddenly at the top of the white marble steps that led into the palace. She looked back at the courtyard, Ares stared at her in mute confusion.

The black cat stared into Annabeth's eyes, it then turned its head away and elegantly disappeared down an alley way. It's tail swished lazily in the air.

Annabeth turned around slowly, she cursed herself for being so paranoid. Thinking that every single thing was dangerous or plotting against her. Now she sort of understood why her father was so strict and stern all of the time.

A weak king causes invaders and wars. They are corrupted by their subject's advices, since they can't make wise decisions on their own.

But on the other hand, arrogant kings cause rebellion.

* * *

The door shut with a small creak of the rusty hinges. Mr Brunner started walking down the hall way, he carried several hard back books in his hands. Hmmm...Suspicious. His footsteps thudded noisily in the high ceiling corridor, he wore riding boots. On his back he wore a thick coat, a sword hung casually at his side.

"Have you got it down?" Thalia whispered as quietly as she could.

Luke nodded. He showed her his notes.

_Thick coat. Boots. Books. Eyebrows. Hat. Too tall..._

"Umm...that's great, now follow me – quietly," Thalia said. She stepped out from behind the stone statue and followed Mr Brunner down the seemingly never ending corridor.

Pictures of Kings, Dukes, Princes and princesses adorned the white stone walls, the ceiling was made up of many arches that had been designed by the best architects the king could afford.

"It's so beautiful..." Luke murmured in wonder, looking up at the ceiling.

"Luke! Watch where you're going!" Thalia hissed, but it was too late. The small goblin stumbled face first into an expensive looking crystal jar that held a very pretty looking plant inside.

_Crash._

Shards of crystals went flying over the stone floor, Luke went toppling into a large clump of soil and flattened the once beautiful flowers that were in the jar.

Thalia's hands went over her mouth. Mr Brunner looked back at them both, his eyes widening. Ooops...mission aborted.

"Thalia! What's going on – what is that thing?" He started walking towards them. _Villain, villain, villain! _A voice chanted in her mind.

"Can't you tell?" Thalia told him rudely. "It's a goblin, I thought you would know, being obsessed with mythological creatures and all..."

"Yes, but what is it doing here – what are you doing here?" Mr Brunner still hadn't told them off about breaking the jar...well at least that was a plus.

"Umm...we wanted to see if the physician had found the reason behind the two elves' murders..."

Mr Brunner's face brightened. "Oh excellent, I never thought that it would interest you. I, myself was going to go down there and help – maybe you would like to join me."

Oh, so he wasn't up to anything evil or sinister. That was disappointing.

"Might as well," Thalia shrugged, concealing her dissatisfaction.

"What about me?" whined Luke, who sat up in his pile of compost, a giant blue flower was attached to his head.

"Err...I suppose you can come too..." Mr Brunner looked unsurely at the ugly little goblin.

"Yay! Does this mean I can still take notes?"

Thalia glared in warning at him.

Mr Brunner looked confused. "What do you mean 'take notes'?"

"Erm...nothing! Let's go, ok," Thalia gave him a convincing laugh. She started walking down the corridor again and motioned them both to follow her. Apprehensively, Mr Brunner followed her with Luke lagging after him, furiously writing as many notes as he could.

Thalia pushed open the old rusty door and into the physicians chambers. A sour scent filled her nostrils that immediately made her want to gag.

Three wide eyed frogs stared up at her from a glass tank, their skin was a mottled green and blue – but the thing that freaked Thalia out the most was their unnaturally intelligent eyes.

Rows and rows of books lined the walls, tables were scattered over the large room that were covered in potions and scrap pieces of paper. The physician had his back to them and was leaning down over a table, where the dead bodies lay, a magnifying glass in his hand.

He looked up when he heard them come in. He was surprisingly youthful looking, but Thalia knew better. Fully grown elves could change their ages all the time; she didn't understand why Mr Brunner preferred living in his 60 year form. Some people, she will never understand.

"Gary! So pleased you can join me; this is a terribly interesting case..."

_Gary_? That was Mr Brunner's first name? Ha. Thalia never knew that.

"Who is this lovely young lady? Oh...look! How wonderful! You've brought a live specimen of a goblin," the physician said ecstatically. He was so happy to the point where it just got...demented.

"This is Thalia, she was going to help us investigate these murders," Mr Brunner explained. _Gary_, Thalia stifled a laugh.

The physician smiled broadly, showing off his straight white teeth. She saw a flash of gold at the back of his mouth. _Eww, gold teeth..._

"Wonderful! It's a pleasure to meet you Thalia, I'm Michael Yew – I must say, it's a rare occasion I get visitors from such beautiful ladies like you," Michael winked at her playfully. Thalia's upper lip lifted slightly up in repulsion.

He motioned them over to a table that was just laden with work, potions and a strange apparatus. "Would you care for a lemon tea? It's one of my newest inventions – although I went a little bit crazy with the mixture, I've got five hundred bottles left."

"_Five hundred bottles!_" Thalia breathed in sharply. She had no doubt that this guy was a complete nutter.

"Yes, but better more than none – let me get you some, they're absolutely delicious. Would you like one Gary?" Michael got up from the table.

"I'm fine, thanks. I've just had lunch," Mr Brunner said swiftly.

Michael didn't look deterred by his answer; instead he merrily went inside a humongous pantry that was filled to the brim with bottles, with a sickly looking yellow mixture inside. He reached up and collected two bottles and placed them back on the table.

"So, Gary...Talia -"

"Thalia," Thalia corrected.

"Thalia, yes...sorry, so I was wondering if you could help me try some experiments on the bodies – it will be really funn - I mean, helpful," Michael poured a some lemon tea into a small wooden cup. "Here you go."

"What experiments are we planning on doing?" Mr Brunner said, straight on the point.

Michael picked up a test tube that contained a small amount of clear liquid inside. "First one is to test their blood, and then we mix it in this liquid I call 'inkling' and see what happens next."

Thalia held up her dagger. "Do you want me to collect some blood?"

Michael looked shocked, he shook his head rapidly and his hand accidently knocked over his mug of lemon tea.

"No, no, no! Ow, ow, that's really hottttttt!" He hissed, holding his burnt hand. "Stupid tea...anyway you cannot use a dagger on your victi – I mean...er...patients. We are going to do it the proper way with a scalpel."

"Isn't it just the same?" Thalia said.

"Thalia, don't talk back," Mr Brunner told her.

"Sorry _Gary_," she shot back. She felt satisfaction when his jaw clenched with possible anger. Luke tugged on her arm next to her. He showed her his notes.

_Strange physician, lemon tea, frogs in a tank, mad, strange, creepy, Gary, Gary knows Michael somehow...angry Gary..._

"What is that?" Michael said leaning over the table, peering down at the book.

Luke snapped it shut, millimetres from Michael's nose. "None of your business," he said rudely. A bubble of snot formed underneath his nose.

Thalia laughed, trying to take away the tension. "Hey, Luke, how about you go over in the corner and...Um...continue with your...er...reading."

Luke seemed to understand and plodded off and sat next to a broom in the corner, just underneath a bookcase, that maybe was just a bit too full.

"Right..." Michael looked warily at the goblin. "Gary, can you take a sample of blood from victim one and victi – I said victim didn't I? Scratch that; just take the blood samples and place them in separate test tubes."

Mr Brunner took the scalpel off Michael and cut a small wound on one of the bodies. "Perfect!" Michael complimented. "Now place the blood in here..."

Mr Brunner carefully dripped the blood off his knife and into the empty test tube. It ran down the sides of the glass tube and collected in a pool at the bottom.

"Now for patient two," Michael opened a book and started reading down the index. He didn't look up when Mr Brunner put another dose of blood in test tube number two.

"Talia -"

"Thalia."

"Oops, Thalia would you mind putting 3cm³ of inkling in both of the test tubes?"

Thalia poured a small amount of the inkling in both test tubes, though she wasn't sure what it was supposed to achieve. Both vials turned an ugly greenish blue colour.

Michael looked up from his book, his expression was confused. "Hmm...This is very strange – I've never seen this shade of colour before...Gary, try opening up your book about mythological creatures, it could be that the two guards were attacked by a monster..."

Mr Brunner flicked open his thick book and studied the brown stained pages with deep intensity. There was silence for five minutes straight. Thalia tried to study a book about elfish wounds, but sadly her brain decided it didn't like reading. The small printed word seemed to float around the page, it started hurting her head. She focused on the beautifully drawn pictures of gaping wounds and swords. There were many images of screaming elves all through the book...some of their heads had been half cut off and their limbs were scattered around in different directions. That was some pretty messed up artist.

"I think I've got it," Michael said, breaking the silence. "It says here that: "_From the blood of the deceased or wounded victim, inkling determines whether or not it was a monster attack or not. If it should turn a dark blue colour, this shows an attack by a hydra – if it should turn a dark green colour, it shows that the attack was by a mermaid, since the aura of mermaids are green – thus showing it was a mermaid who caused the death._"

Thalia rolled her eyes in annoyance. Mermaids, mermaids, mermaids...yada yada yada. When were people going to shut up about them, it was doing her head in.

"Mermaids don't exist."

Mr Brunner and Michael both looked at her.

"What? They don't. They're myths, legends or whatever," Thalia took a sip of her lemon tea.

Mr Brunner sighed. "Then explain how these two soldiers are dead. Elves can't die from wounds – even ones as horrific as that, they heal in time. Elves do not die from old age like humans and they cannot die from disease. The only thing that can kill elves that are recorded in history, are mermaids."

"Doesn't mean they exist," Thalia said stubbornly. "Could just mean that someone has figured out how to kill elves from sword wounds."

"She does have a point," Michael put in. Thalia's eyes widened when she saw his face, it was an unhealthy shade of yellow. An empty mug of lemon tea sat by his hand on the table.

Mr Brunner looked at them both. "But it must be mermaids; it's not possible to make a sword that kills elves."

"It's not possible that mermaids exist," Thalia remarked quickly. She saw Luke, out the corner of her eye, jotting endless amounts of words in the notebook. "How would a mermaid be able to kill somebody so far from the sea?"

"Mermaids can live on land," Mr Brunner said. "How would you explain that the test tubes have turned green? It's the aura of a mermaid."

"But they don't exist," Thalia said again furiously. Why wouldn't anyone believe her? Everybody was so annoying. "_And_ the test tubes are not green; they're more turquoise than green."

Michael looked back and forth between them, whilst they argued.

"Ok, peoples. How about we all go away and think about it, then maybe we can come to a conclusion tomorrow."

Thalia stood up from her chair. "Yeah, I think I'll go. This is just stupid; I thought you were more mature than that, Mr Brunner. Mermaids don't exist, only in your imagination."

She walked towards the door, stumbling slightly on a greasy patch on the floor. Luke got up and followed her, still writing down his notes.

"Don't forget to come again and drink more lemon tea with me!" called Michael.

Thalia didn't answer. Well, her mission was all for nothing.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for the comments, they're really encouraging me to write faster :) Any read the house of hades? It's AMAZING! so i might update tomorrow or monday since i've got half term right now. Happy reading.**

**P.S. Sorry about all the tea - but i love tea and it's awesome. Nuff said.**


	13. Memories

**AN: Hi! thanks for reviews...anyways Mr Brunner is called Gary because i randomly like that name and thanks for commenting! Read and review!**

* * *

The chambers had gone dark, shrouded in a thick coating of shadows. Annabeth opened her curtains and stared down at the citadel clock. Its enormous face reflected the light of the moon, the hands displayed the time of quarter to ten.

Her bodyguard had left her for the night, though he slept in the room opposite Annabeth's.

Silently, she crept out into the large landing; in her hand was a lighted candle. The hallway to her right was hardly even visible in the darkness, she moved slowly along the hall way careful not to bump into anything. This time, she had decided not to go down the main stairs since she didn't want to risk the sentries' catching her, last time was a lucky escape. Annabeth still hadn't figure out who had been in her room that night, it was really bugging her but she didn't know where to start.

Suddenly a sharp pain burst into her foot. Annabeth gasped and tried not to scream in shock. She brought her candle down by her foot, it was bleeding quite badly. There was something stuck inside it. A sparkling broken piece of crystal. Annabeth realised that all around her was covered in shattered crystals; she remembered the expensive crystal vase that her father had bought on his travels to Atlantia...

He was going to go mental when he found out. The vase had cost him a fortune. Ignoring the burning pain, she continued on down the hallway, passing the physician's chambers on the way. A faint sound of snoring could be heard through the door. It made Annabeth smile at the peculiar noises he was making.

Tip toeing down some narrow back stairs, she opened a door at the bottom that led into the palace kitchens. The air was still warm in here, a vague smell of roast chicken hung in the air – it reminded her of her dinner.

Annabeth stepped slowly across the kitchen floor and out into an enclosed alley way. As quietly as she could, she shut the kitchen door behind her.

"Miaow."

Annabeth jumped. A furry creature looked up at her; it was the same black cat she had seen this morning. Crouching down, she stroked its silky fur though it didn't seem to like that. It started backing away and then ran off into a clump of trees and bushes.

Shrugging, Annabeth started running down towards the stables. Her feet pounded noisily on the paving stones.

"Hey, you! Come back here!" she heard a voice say.

_No! _How could she be so stupid? She had totally forgotten about the night patrols, they raced after her. Though thankfully they were weighed slightly down from their armour, but in reality they were still faster.

Annabeth panted as she reached the stables. Percy was already there, he took one glance at the night patrol and grabbed her wrist and pulled her down into the empty market street.

He was running faster than Annabeth, she had no idea how he could run so fast. Her candle slipped out of her hand and landed on the roadside. Her wounded foot hurt whenever she landed on it.

"I can't...go...on," she panted, there was a massive stitch in her side. The night patrol was catching up, closer and closer...

Before she could react, Percy picked her up as if she weighed like a doll and sprinted down the wide streets of Athane. The shops and houses blurred, this shouldn't be possible...this shouldn't be possible...how the heck could he run so fast?

Percy was breathing evenly, Annabeth noted. This was another question she had to ask him. This shouldn't be possible.

She looked back at the patrol. They were tiny specks in the distance, no way had they gone that far. Percy continued to run, into a wood and smoothly dodged each tree. His breathing now was slightly heavy, but that was it. No other elf should be able to run, carrying an elf in their arms, that far a distance. This shouldn't be possible...

Annabeth felt him slow down and then stop running. He put her down on the long thick green grass that looked black in the night air.

Her jaw dropped as she took in her surroundings.

It was...breath taking. She could see the entire landscape of Athane, her palace glinted faraway in the distance – had they really ran that far? But it was so beautiful; she couldn't help but drink in the view. Peaked mountains rose and fell across the horizon, waterfalls glinted under the stars...acres and acres of trees and forest covered the hilly scenery before her. Small roads wound between forests and stretched out of sight, she could see the warm glow of fires in some outlying villages as they tried to keep warm for the night.

There was a small thud next to her. Annabeth turned her gaze to a person even more beautiful than any setting or creature.

"Do you like it?"

Annabeth nodded, zoning out of the world and gazing at his face. There was silence. Percy shifted uncomfortably.

"So you wanted to ask me questions, then?"

"Yep."

Silence. "Are you actually going to ask them – or just stare at my face for the rest of the night?"

Annabeth blinked. "Umm...Yeah ok – wait I forgot what I was going to say."

"Does that mean you're not going to ask any questions then?" Percy said hopefully.

She nodded. Part of her mind told her to snap out of her trance, but the other half decided that she was perfectly alright gazing at his face.

"Right, so you just made me run all the way here for nothing?"

"Yep."

"Thanks," Percy muttered. "Do you want me to take you back?"

"Nope. I've still got questions that I need answering," Annabeth said.

"But I thought that you forgot -"

"I've remembered them now," Annabeth said. She plucked a piece of grass out of the ground and twiddled it around her thumb. "First thing: you were ten years old when you saved me from that mermaid. My tutor said that no elf in history has defeated one before."

"Guess I'm just special, then," he tried to laugh it off, but it didn't exactly work. Annabeth could tell from his eyes that he was nervous.

"But you were ten years old – or around that age any way. Not even a fully grown elf has managed to kill one," Annabeth argued.

Percy laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck. "Er..."

"And the other thing," Annabeth carried on. "How on earth did you know the weakness of the dragon in the arena? No one has managed in the Mellay to defeat one."

"Then what's the point of putting it in the arena in the first place?"

"Stop answering with questions," Annabeth snapped harshly. "Just tell me."

"What if it isn't any of your business?" Percy retorted.

Annabeth stopped herself from saying 'I'm the princess of Athane. It is my business.' But she knew that Percy was right. It wasn't any of her business, but that didn't mean she wasn't allowed to meddle with it.

"I deserve to know. You could be breaking the law...you could have made a potion that makes you stronger – that's it! That's why you're so much stronger than anyone else! This means that you're cheating in the Mellay!"

Percy looked taken aback, his expression was surprised. Annabeth smirked; she knew that she had figured it out.

"What? N – Um...actually yeah...but you're not going to tell anyone are you?" Percy said nervously.

"Why wouldn't I?" Annabeth said triumphantly. She started to get up.

"But I saved you remember? You can't just double cross me like this," he sounded so helpless...

"I know you saved me. I'm grateful for it. But you're cheating in the games, it's not allowed," part of Annabeth's mind told her she was being unreasonable. Part of her told her that she sounded like her father. Commanding, unrelenting...evil.

Percy stood up next to her. He gripped her face, for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her. Her heart beat quickly. Until her head suddenly went foggy, spots danced around in her eyes. Her brow creased in confusion, what was he doing?

Then she remembered nothing more.

* * *

"So...let's recap everything we know..." Thalia sat on her bedroom floor, her diary notebook open over her knees. "Shall we write down some theories? Got any suggestions?"

Luke stared into his own notepad. "How about: Annabeth is not really a princess, King Frederic adopted her when she was a baby and her real parents are top secret magicians – so that's why she was able to use magic so easily."

"Well...it's a start – what about Mr Bru – Gary, rather. I love his real name – ha, it doesn't suit him at all...no wonder he tells us to call him Mr Brunner."

Luke flicked back a page in his notes. "Ok, it says here that Gary somehow knows the physician very well, even though he is your tutor and doesn't usually hang around with lower class citizens."

"Right – carry on. It might just mean that he has known Michael since he was a child or something boring like that," Thalia pondered. She drew a quick spider diagram in her diary, splitting it off into sections: Gary, Annabeth, Leo, and General.

Luke sighed. "I feel like a detective now...if only I hadn't strayed into that forest...then I wouldn't be in this mess. I'd be at home making spinach and cabbage soup and my mother would be still making me loads of -"

"_Luke_. Stop rambling on. Let's actually figure this mystery out, ok?"

He nodded obediently. "How about we look back at your diary entries – they also might have some useful information."

"Yeah," Thalia turned back a clump of pages. She felt rather proud that she had managed to write so much. Gary would be pleased with her...although he might not be pleased when he found out that she was stalking him...

Luke crawled over to where she sat and looked over her shoulder. Thalia fought the urge to push the snotty nosed goblin away from her. "Here," she pointed to a paragraph she had written five years back.

_She had a broken look on her face, her eyes were glassy and they didn't focus very well. Something must've happened wherever she had been, but I don't know what. It is really creepy the way she talks and looks – it's been like this for weeks but I think it's slowly getting better. But what could have made her so different. It's really scary and I don't know what's going on._

There was something Annabeth wasn't telling her, she was sure of it. Ahh, she found this so frustrating! All these loose paths that led nowhere. Surely she could figure at least _something _out of all her notes.

There was a sudden knock on the door.

"My lady? May I come in?"

"Get behind the curtain," Thalia hissed to Luke. He nodded and ran rather heavily across her room and disappeared behind the dark fabric.

"My lady?"

"Come in!" Thalia called, sitting at her desk as if nothing had just happened...

Her brown haired servant opened the door. "Your father says he is going out for a while and he'll be back at six o'clock."

"Ok, thanks," Thalia said. She waited for the maid to leave and then went back to sit on the floor. "Luke, you can come out now."

No response. "_Luke_!"

The curtain shifted and Luke waddled out clumsily from the window pane. An excited grin was stretched across his face. Well that looked creepy.

"Look over here!" he said excitedly, like a toddler showing off his new toys. Getting up from the rug on the floor, she made her way over to the window and looked out.

A golden carriage was drawn up outside of her mansion, a well dressed servant stood beside one of the doors. Her father was walking towards it – _with the king of Atlantia_? This is really messed up. Where was her father going with one of the most powerful men in the world?

"Luke, write it down," she said, reverting back to stalker mode.

He nodded and immediately wrote in his messy handwriting in her notebook. "What are we going to do now? Follow them?"

Thalia snorted. "No, of course not. They would most likely see us, or at least one of them will. Right now we need to go on another adventure – first on the list is to find out what Annabeth is up to."

"Can't we just assume she's the daughter of a really powerful magician and the king has adopted her?" Luke whined. "My feet really hurt from all the sneaking about."

"Luke, we've hardly done _any _sneaking about, at least you haven't. I've done the most here," Thalia said sternly. She pushed him away from the windowsill and opened her bedroom door.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" a maid dropped her smooth white sheets in her hands onto the floor. Gathering them up quickly, she ran away back down the stairs.

"What's wrong with her?" Luke grumbled, shaking his head.

"You scared her off, now she's going to tell all the servants and we just have to hope that they won't believe her. You should have been more careful."

Thalia went onto the landing with Luke following behind her.

"You were the one who opened the door," He said. "Now I will have to go and live somewhere else."

"The stables?" Thalia suggested, walking down the stairs.

"No! No way! I hate horses, big ugly things that can stand whilst sleeping – it's not right," Luke said.

Thalia sighed. "Fine, I can ask Annabeth if she will let you stay in her room. Although I have no idea how she'll react. Somehow we also need to get information out of her, without her realising it."

"Cool! I can spy on her if she lets me stay in her room!" Luke recommended eagerly, following her out of the mansion and down the wide driveway.

Thalia considered. A vision of Luke came into her mind, where he was stumbling boisterously over tables and tripping over random objects whilst he was following Annabeth...maybe she was being too harsh, she might as well give him a chance.

"Yeah, just try not to be too obvious though."

Luke beamed and skipped rather ungracefully beside her, the morning sun lightening his dark hair. There was a happy gleam in his eyes which made him look sort of like a carefree child. That is, if you didn't look at his features and red eyes.

They stopped at the end of the driveway and looked out onto a busy street. Thalia unclasped her cloak from around her neck and draped it round Luke, pulling the hood over his head. The cloak was far too big for him and trailed a long way behind him, though it was either that or get arrested for walking around with suspicious creatures.

"I think it suits me," Luke said, looking up at Thalia from the red hood.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "In your dreams," she muttered.

Pushing open the tall iron gate, they walked out into the street and made their way through the busy elf's and stalls that sometimes stood annoyingly right in the middle of the road. They walked up the polished steps of the Kings' castle and past the guards at the top. One of them looked down at Luke, distrustfully.

"Its fine," Thalia reassured him. "He's with me, he's my friend."

The guard nodded and let the go through. Thalia thought about what she had said: _He's my friend_. Was that true right now? She thought about Luke and his sweet childish attitude, the way he would do anything for her but always seemed to muck it up. Thalia knew that if Luke managed to find a cure and turn back to an elf and then disappeared forever, part of her heart would notice the loss. They had spent so long together, trying to figure out what everyone was getting up to – it wouldn't be the same without him.

The sentries let her past as she made her way up to Annabeth's chambers; she was usually in her bedroom at this hour of the day – drawing, painting or reading some incredibly boring book.

Thalia knocked on the door in her secret code. _Tap, Tap Tap...Tap._

"Come in!" she heard Annabeth say brightly. That was unusual.

Pushing open the door, Thalia and Luke stepped in the large circular room. Annabeth grinned at them; she was sitting at her desk with a paintbrush in her hand. A half coloured picture was splayed out over her desk, the golden hues of sunlight lit up the white paper.

"Thalia, how are you? Who's this little person?" Annabeth said, though Thalia had no idea why she sounded so happy.

"Umm...I'm fine. This is Luke...um...don't freak out when I say this but...er...he's a goblin..."

Annabeth laughed cheerfully, throwing back her head and showing off her pearly white teeth. What is wrong with her today?

"A goblin? How sweet! I've never seen one before – come on over here, no need to be shy," Annabeth encouraged.

"So you're ok with this then? I thought -"

"Just what are you talking about? I don't mind goblins, they're fascinating to me. Here take a seat," she patted the two chairs next to her.

Luke obliged and climbed up on the chair, his hood fell off revealing his grey chubby face.

"Aww, he's adorable!" Annabeth leaned over and pinched his cheek. Luke got a dreamy expression on his face.

Thalia coughed. "Are you sure you're ok today, Annabeth?"

"Me? Why wouldn't I be? I feel amazing! So what brings you to my chambers this early of day?"

Thalia looked down at Luke, who was staring at Annabeth with a lovesick puppy expression. Uhhh...that's just wrong.

"We wanted your help with some living amenities..." Thalia started, why was Annabeth still smiling? "...a maid in our house saw Luke and it's dangerous for him to live there now – since of all the gossip and rumours that might spread -"

"Oh I get it!" Annabeth said elatedly. "You want me to look after Luke in my chambers."

Thalia nodded, hoping that she said yes. Although judging Annabeth's mood right now, it wasn't that hard to tell what she thought about it.

"Well of course I will – there's a room that connect to mine, he can sleep in there, shall I show you Luke?"

Luke nodded still gazing into Annabeth's eyes.

"She's really pretty," he whispered to Thalia and then he followed Annabeth to the door.

Thalia heard Annabeth talking to him about the room and Luke was replying a little bit too enthusiastically.

Thalia went over and looked into the room, poking her head through the doorway. Annabeth waved at her, her smile widened.

"Care to explain why you're so happy this morning?" Thalia asked. She sat down next to Annabeth on the small bed.

Annabeth's eyes went all glazed. "Percy took me out last night – he showed me an absolutely amazing view of the landscape – it was so beautiful."

"Who's Percy?" Thalia questioned, wanting to get more information out of her.

"He's a contestant for the Mellay – he's really hot," Annabeth said, her smile started to look creepy.

"So he did this to you? Is this why you're not acting like yourself? What did he actually do to you when you were with him," Thalia's voice started getting louder and louder.

"Thalia it's ok! I'm fine. What do you mean? – nothing happened," Annabeth said looking shocked at her outburst.

"Oh, and you really expect me to believe that," Thalia hissed. "He must have brainwashed you – think about it. A random guy from the Mellay takes you out one night and then you come back completely different and then expect me to think you're ok?"

"No, no, Thalia. You're getting it all wrong! I don't remember anything happening!"

"That doesn't mean anything. He must've wiped your memory – what does he look like?" Thalia demanded.

"He's got black hair, green eyes - did I mention that he is hot?" she started going all dreamy and unfocused again.

"Got it," Thalia said, stomping out of the room. Luke got up and followed her. "Stay here Luke – things are about to get messy."

"Thalia! What are you doing? Where are you going?" Annabeth called, getting up from the bed.

"I'm avenging you Annabeth if you didn't know that. I want to know what that guy did to you," Thalia flung open the door and ran down the stairs.

"Thalia! Come back!" Annabeth cried desperately.

But Thalia kept walking. Determined to figure this whole thing out.

* * *

Percy spun round and swiped his leg under his opponent. The weaker elf fell onto the solid dirt floor. Quick as a flash, Percy placed his dagger at his neck.

"Yield?"

"I yield," the elf gasped, still winded from the fall.

The contestants cheered at Percy's small victory. He was starting to warm up to them, after he realised that not all of them were jerks like Heracles' and Prince Triton. Percy helped his opponent up and they shook hands.

"You fight well," someone said, coming up next to him.

"Thanks," Percy said. "So do you – I think you've beaten most of the contestants here in the training camp."

The tall blonde haired elf smiled. "I'm Jason Grace, by the way. This is my first time in the Mellay."

"Same here," Percy said.

"Thought so...you only look sixteen," Jason said. "But you still fight like a complete demon – it's not fair. Care to spill your secrets?"

Percy stiffened. "Secrets?" he had far too many of them.

Jason laughed. "Yeah, the way you fight and everything – it's like you've been training since the dawn of time."

Percy fiddled with the hem of his shirt, nervously. They were coming to close to an unwanted topic. "I've just had a lot of practice."

"So has everyone else," Jason pointed out, stepping on dangerous grounds. "You can't fool me, Percy – I know who you really are."

Percy froze, a bead of sweat formed on his forehead. "What do you mean?"

"You're half mermaid, half elf, aren't you?"

Percy's jaw clenched, he was prepared to brainwash Jason's mind if he had to. "No, why do you think that? There's no such thing."

"It's obvious," Jason said. "The way you look is beyond elfish standards, you can use magic better than anyone else and you're only sixteen. Plus I've seen you drinking a potion in your tent – like I said 'you can't fool me'"

"So what are you going to do about it?" Percy said calmly, but there was steel in his eyes, ready to wipe every single thought from his head.

Jason laughed again as if it were nothing. "Me? I'm not going to tell anyone – I find it interesting how you are a boy instead of a girl. Does that make you a merman?"

Percy's lips quirked into a guarded smile. "I suppose it does. How do I know you're not going to tell anyone?"

"I give you my solemn oath," Jason said seriously.

That was good enough for Percy. A solemn oath could not go back on itself. If you broke it, your soul would be blasted the most painful way possible, into oblivion.

Percy smiled. A real smile, for the first time he could properly smile, because he had no more secrets to share and Jason accepted him for who he was. Rachel didn't count; she had many of her own secrets she kept from Percy. Even though he had known her his whole life he still felt like a stranger.

"Thanks," Percy said, turning to leave.

"Be careful," Jason said. "Not many people will accept you for who you really are."

Percy nodded once, but he already knew that. But if it meant that even just a small number of people accepted him for who he was, he could live with that.

He left the training camp to get some fresh air, trudging down the wide streets of Athane. Percy liked going through the market street, it felt so alive and welcoming, and it made him feel...different. All he wanted was to belong to somewhere, but he knew it wouldn't happen.

Not now, not ever.

* * *

Thalia stormed towards the training camp. Her electric blue eyes focused on the contestants that were practicing their moves on straw dummies. She looked around for a person with black hair and green eyes. But she couldn't find him. A blonde haired elf was standing near the entrance; he looked up when he saw Thalia.

"Do you know a guy called Percy?" she demanded, the elf looked surprised at her ferocity.

"Um...yeah – he just went that way, down the market street," he waved his arm to the right.

Spinning on her heel, Thalia stormed down the road, not even thanking the elf for his directions. All she wanted was to (hopefully) kill this elf for changing her best friend.

* * *

A girl with black hair was walking towards him. Her eyes were even more terrifying than Prince Triton's signature glare. Percy had no idea why she was so angry and why she was heading straight towards him.

The crowd seemed to part and let her through, though they seemed oblivious to her gaze. Suddenly she pushed him against a wall, her face centimetres from his.

"Just what have you done to Annabeth?" she growled, pushing him harder against the wall. He looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You perfectly know what I mean! You took her out last night and brainwashed her now she's an entirely different person."

Percy didn't know what she meant. Yes. He had sort of brainwashed her, but it was only to remove the argument they had from her mind. It wasn't supposed to change her or make her into a different person. Every other time, they had just gone back to their normal selves, there were no side effects.

"Answer me," the girl hissed. A crowd started forming around them, talking loudly – some started chanting 'fight' over and over again.

"I didn't do anything, I didn't brainwash her," Percy lied, though it probably wasn't the best idea.

"Really?" the girl said sarcastically. "Then explain why Annabeth has changed."

"Umm...I don't know. Maybe she just enjoyed our time together..." Percy realised what he had just said. The mysterious girls' eyebrows rose. Her right hand flew to her sheathed sword.

"Wait! It's not like that!" Percy looked around the excited faces of the crowd. The noise level had risen.

He had to do this again. There was no other option – just like last night.

Summoning his power, his eyes flashed a dark green. The colour of his aura. A thick layer of mist shrouded the market street. People stopped moving as if frozen in time. Their eyes had turned white.

Time stopped still all around him. The black haired girl had frozen with her hands on his chest...bit awkward...

"You will not remember this fight and you will not remember being angry at me," Percy said to all the motionless people, but particularly the black haired girl.

Clicking his fingers and releasing the spell, he dissolved in thin air.

* * *

Thalia fell forwards into the side of a wall. She blinked back spots that appeared in her eyes. What had just happened? She couldn't remember what she was doing here...that's weird.

Thalia shrugged and walked back down the street, it surprised her that there was a dispersing crowd around her. They all looked confused and lost, as if wondering what they were doing. Thalia shook her head and tried to remember what she was doing in the market street – but nothing was coming back to her. It was all a blank.

She stopped when she passed the Red Herring inn. Thinking about it, she had hardly seen Leo these last few days. It could be helpful to get more information out of him.

Pushing open the door she entered the cosy little inn. The owner waved at her whilst he polished glasses, stacking them on shelves. Thalia waved back as she started jogging up the long narrow stair case.

A beautiful girl with a very sparkly decorated bag was walking towards her. Her eyes lit up when she saw her.

"Hi, Thalia! Just going out to town for some wedding supplies – I'd love to chat with you sometime," she said smiling.

Thalia stopped walking. "Yeah, shall we arrange a time?"

Silena considered. "How about later today – 4pm? Meet at the dressmakers."

"Sure, but the dressmakers?"

Silena laughed uneasily. "Well...I was wondering if you could be my bridesmaid...um...yeah I gotta go – see you later!"

Thalia gave her a nervous laugh, an image of her in a bright pink dress floated in her mind. Hmmm...Not nice...bad thoughts.

She waved goodbye to Silena, who gave her a smile and gracefully disappeared down the stairs, her pale blue dress floating behind her.

Thalia stopped walking at door number 5; she opened it and found Leo lying on the bed reading a book of some sort. Though his eyebrows were all scrunched up as if he was having a hard time concentrating.

"Hey Leo."

He jolted up from the bed and gave her a wide smile. "You're Thalia, aren't you?"

Thalia nodded. "Yeah – just came to see if you are alright. How's your new home?"

Leo's eyes gazed around the room, taking in the neat white walls and brown timbered ceiling. "I'm settling in – though I prefer my old one. Then there was an explosion...a shower of diamonds – that girl Hazel caused it, didn't she?"

"Wait, what do you mean – she caused it?" Thalia thought back. The explosion had happened quite randomly and she hadn't actually figured out who had done it. But seven year old Hazel? "But she's so young and she isn't allowed to use magic."

Leo shook his head with impatience. "No, no, no – no magic...it's a curse from her mother. Meddled with things she couldn't control – it cursed her. Or rather the witch cursed her."

"The witch? You're speaking nonsense again," Thalia sat down on his bed and faced him, staring into his brown eyes. He looked so lost...

"The witch," Leo nodded. "She is neither good or bad. She's the middle one who keeps the peace; she stops things from getting out of control. I use to know her. There was a plan, but it didn't work. Now there's a princess without her mother..."

"Are you talking about _Annabeth_?" Thalia said. This was confusing. Her head already hurt and Leo was not making in any better.

Leo grunted, so she wasn't sure whether it was a 'yes' or a 'no'. "The princess – her mother isn't here is she?"

"Why?" Thalia persisted. She had known that Annabeth's mother didn't live with her anymore, but she didn't know why. She had never really thought about it much.

"I don't know...I can't remember..."

"What about your parents?" Thalia said and then immediately regretted it. Leo's eyes went watery and red. He sniffed; a lump was forming in his throat. "Forget I said that."

"No, it's ok," Leo gulped. "They died, it was a mermaid attack – we lived too close to the sea, we weren't careful enough."

There it was...mermaids _again_. Why was everyone so obsessed about them? But her earlier argument with Mr Brunner didn't seem to matter anymore. The look of sincerity on Leo's face was so real...she found it hard to go against it. Instead of saying her usual phrase: 'Mermaids don't exist' she wrapped her arm around Leo's shoulder.

She was bad at comforting people and she had no idea what to say.

"I'm fine," Leo said, cheering up slightly.

"Leo..." Thalia said slowly, wondering how best to put it. "Do you know how we can...um...heal your mind – and also Luke's...um...transformation..."

Leo brightened up. "There's a physician in Atlantia...Not sure what his name is, to distant...to f – f- faraway..."

Thalia nodded, pleased that they had finally found a possible cure.

"Luke likes spinach," Leo added helpfully.

"That's good to know," Thalia said. "Well, I must be going – see you around sometime!"

Before she went out the door, Leo stopped her. "Wait, before you go – find the mermaid...please? Find her, find her..."

Thalia bit her lip at the fragile state Leo was in. Her smile faltered. She didn't know what he was talking about; she was only just starting to wonder if mermaids actually existed. Now her was telling her to find a specific one?

"I'll try," though she felt bad when she saw Leo's face split into a smile. He looked somehow happier and less insane...

But she still had no idea what he was going on about.

"Rescue her," he said firmly.

* * *

**AN: and the plot thickens... and I might post tomorrow...maybe. I've got a lot of homework though - eek!**


	14. Emotions

"Good morning, Triton," Annabeth said happily, waving at him as she went down the market street.

Prince Triton looked at her with a peculiar expression. Annabeth returned it with a smile.

"You seem happy today," Prince Triton said somewhat suspiciously. Annabeth grinned and nodded, she held up her shopping bag that was full of chocolate.

"Of course I am! Why does _everyone _think I'm weird or something – is it a crime to be happy? I've just been shopping for my friend's wedding; her father gave me all this chocolate at a _massive _discount. Isn't that nice?" Annabeth showed him her bag. She held out some beautifully wrapped chocolate fudge. "You want some? I got more than I bargained for."

Triton took the chocolate hesitantly from her hands. Annabeth had literally no idea why everyone thought she was acting different today. She felt incredible, euphoric, amazing!

"Thanks..."

"So how is your training for the Mellay going? Its next week isn't it – apparently this challenge is going to be a brand new one, so the contestants will be taken by surprise."

Prince Triton looked at her weirdly, as if having a perfectly normal conversation was the strangest thing ever. Annabeth will never understand some people. She had no clue as to why Thalia seemed so stressed this morning.

"Yeah...this challenge is going to be a breeze for me – that Persues or Percy...whatever...he was such an attention seeker in that last challenge. The crowd were going bonkers for him all because he managed to kill a dragon...blah, blah, blah," Triton complained, there was a smearing of chocolate around his mouth. Annabeth gave him a handkerchief.

He eyed it warily.

"It's to wipe your mouth," Annabeth prompted.

"Right..." he used his hand instead and gave back Annabeth her unused tissue. "So anyway...that Percy person seems pretty suspicious don't you think? No one knows where he came from or who his family are – and he's only like sixteen, no sixteen year old should be able to use magic that effortlessly. It's not natural."

"He could actually be like a hundred and just preferred taking on the form of a sixteen year old," Annabeth pointed out.

"Hmm..."

"Oh well, I'll see you later – it's been nice chatting to you," Annabeth said, continuing down the market street, with Prince Triton still frowning in confusion behind her.

* * *

Percy banged on the old wooden door loudly; he heard light footsteps behind it. A tall woman opened it; her violet eyes gazed at Percy.

"Hello Percy, come in, come in – it's nice to see you again, it's been so long!" Rachel ushered him inside the warm dimly lit house. He looked around the familiar room taking in the potent aura of magic in the air.

"It's only been a few weeks," Percy said as Rachel gave him a big hug.

"Exactly, it's been ages. How are you? Have you been coping alright?"

"Rachel, you're not my mother – seriously."

Rachel pouted, which looked quite comical on her mysterious youthful face. She pushed him into a chair by the fire and sat down in front of him in her own armchair.

"Yes...your mother, hmm..."

Percy sat straight up, his eyes pleading. "What about my mother? Do you know her?"

Rachel laughed. "Well yeah, she was the first of my experiments – ahh, happy memories."

Percy's eyes flickered. "You experimented on my mother?" he growled, staring ferociously at Rachel. She stared back at him, her eyes unwavering.

"It was a good experiment – I had help of course, even though I'm number 1 top soothsayer/witch, I couldn't have done it without my buddies..." Rachel leaned back and sipped a steaming hot liquid from a mug...though it certainly did not look like tea...

"How do you mean? A good experiment?"

Rachel gave him one of her all knowing smiles. "It was a good experiment, except it is unfinished," she replied simply.

Great, _very _helpful.

"Where's my mother now?" Percy asked hopefully.

Rachel took another sip of her drink, a puff of steam drifted from her nose. "Dead."

"Dead," that single word felt like someone had just dumped a thousand tons of rock on him. "How?" his voice was shaking, maybe from grief or anger. How could Rachel just sit here and talk so calmly about it?

"She made a mistake that was fatal. The price she had to pay was her life. End of."

"I'm getting nowhere with this," Percy trembled, his hands were shaking. "You've kept secrets from me my _entire_ life! I can't just...just live in darkness...this is my life as well. Not just yours. She's my mother, I deserve to know."

Rachel put down her mug on a small coffee table beside her. She looked intently at Percy after his outburst.

"All with come in good time, Percy. Just have patience."

Percy looked away, his fists clenched in frustration. "Fine. As long as I get answers in the end."

"Shall we start again then? What is the real reason you came here? I know it wasn't to shout at me about your mother," Rachel said, breaking the tension like a knife cutting through a veil.

Percy looked back at her, though he avoided her eyes. "I used a memory wipe spell on the princess last night. In the late morning her friend marched right up to me and accused me of changing her, whatever that meant. But I was confused, that's not suppose to happen, right?"

Rachel didn't reply for about ten seconds. A clock ticked in the background.

"No, that is unusual. But it has happened before – it only means that the person has deep affection for you," Rachel winked slyly at him. "Even if they haven't admitted it fully to themselves, the person's soul already has. It turns them into a slightly different person, though it should wear off in a couple of days."

"That princess _loves _me?" Percy spluttered, choking on the air.

"Yep, completely head over heels," Rachel said happily. "Now we can have loads of one quarter mermaids running around! Won't that be wonderful?"

"You're not serious?" Percy said, still gasping for air. He couldn't imagine the princess as his wife at all. Every single time she met him, she always started shouting at him. To be honest it scared him and her eyes were a very intimidating colour.

"Would I ever lie to you?"

"Possibly," Percy mumbled.

"What was that?" though she knew perfectly well what he said.

"Nothing. When the side effects of the spell wear off, does this mean she'll...um...remember what happened?"

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "What happened? Anything explicit?"

"No! Why does everyone think that? Just answer the question."

Rachel thought about it. "The memory spell will still work, so she probably never will know...what happened..."

"I didn't do anything to her by the way," Percy reminded her.

"Sure, sure...is this the princess of Athane by any chance?" Rachel asked curiously.

"Yeah."

Rachel smiled somewhat creepily. "Interesting..."

* * *

"Annabeth?" Thalia said, looking down from her horse.

"Thalia! What did you do to Percy," she demanded rather territorially.

"What? Who's Percy?" Thalia asked, confused. What was she going on about?

Annabeth looked back at her equally confused. "I thought you went off to kill him or something – earlier this morning you started getting angry about him..."

Thalia scrunched up her eyebrows. She really tried to remember but nothing was coming back to her.

"That's right," Luke intervened. "You told me it was going to get messy."

"What he said," Annabeth said, looking up at the two of them, as if only just realising that they were on horseback. "Where are you going?"

"To Atlantia to find a cure for Luke and Leo," Thalia told impatiently, it annoyed her that this was wasting time.

"Atlantia? But that's really far away! It will take a few days for you to get there – you'll miss the third Mellay challenge."

"Do you really think I care about that lame Mellay tournament?" Thalia gave her one of her famous snorts. "I'm saving one of my _friends _instead of wasting my time with some _stupid _Mellay."

"I'm your friend?" Luke asked with awe.

"Yes and right now we have to go. _So _nice meeting you," she waved sarcastically at Annabeth and pressed her heels into the horses' side.

The wind rushed past her as they galloped down the streets, leaving Annabeth standing at the stables open mouthed. Her grey eyes full of an emotion she couldn't understand.

"Yay! I'm going to be an elf again!" Luke cheered into the passing sky. Thalia smiled at his enthusiasm, she only hoped that this Physician knew what he was up to.

Cantering down the wide paved streets, Thalia saw a glimpse of brown through the trees in the upcoming pine woods. Gary came onto her mind. It must be him. Riding off into the unknown...

Thalia crushed the urge to follow him; she could do that another day. She manoeuvred her dark brown horse onto a deserted country road, which wound up and down through the long pale grass. The high afternoon sun shone down onto them, providing warmth on their journey ahead. Thalia's bag of provisions jolted up and down from the galloping horses' speed.

An immense sized forest was drawing closer towards them; it stretched far over the horizon. She could just make out a gate that blocked the entrance to the forest.

"Did you kill Percy then?" Luke said over the noise of the pounding hooves.

"Look, I have no idea what you are talking about. Can we just leave this conversation?"

"But -"

"No buts," Thalia answered firmly. She dug her heels harder in the horses' side and it charged right towards the gate.

"Ahhhhhh!" Luke screamed. "Nooooo! Too fast!"

Thalia laughed at him. "You're not going to fall off, I'm at the back of the horse, be grateful."

The wooden gate approached them rapidly; the horse wasn't making any inclination of slowing down. Thalia pulled suddenly on the reins, the horse reared on its back to legs, whinnying in protest. Thalia gripped harder with her legs in effort not to fall off. Although it was quite hard with a hyper active goblin clinging onto your waist...

"Luke, get off!"

"S-sorry," he squeaked, but he didn't let go. The horse fell back on all fours and shook his mane, getting rid of the knots and tangles.

"Luke, open the gate, would you?"

Luke muttered something dirty about horses and spinach, as he jumped down from the horse and opened the gate.

"Says here 'BEWARE: DO NOT ENTER'" he gestured to a badly engraved sign that was nailed roughly into the wooden fence.

"Ignore it," Thalia said. "It probably means nothing."

Luke shrugged and continued opening the gate. He climbed back on the horse (with a little help from Thalia)

The horse started trotting cautiously into dark overgrown woods. A cool scent of berries and fern leaves wrapped around the air around them.

Birds chirped in the background, through the noise of the rustling trees. Thalia could hear the sound of crisp dead leaves flying with the wind, they twirled around in the air, spinning and falling to the ground.

The trees around them looked like they were holding their breath. Their branches were dark and empty, bare twigs reached out towards each other like outstretched fingers.

A lone squirrel raced across their path, disappearing up a tree on the other side of the path.

"Can you hear that?" Luke whispered.

Thalia listened.

"No," she said just as quietly, though she didn't know why she was whispering.

"Footsteps," Luke replied. "Eyes watching us..."

Thalia swept her eyes around her. She couldn't see anybody...wait...was that a shadow of someone?

"We need to speed up," she said. She lashed the reins, pushing the horse to its limits. Faster, faster...Thalia could sense someone or _something _following after them. "Hurry up," she muttered to the horse.

_Whoosh._

The horse collapsed underneath them. They all went flying over the top of the horse. Luke was screaming his heart to pieces.

Thalia skidded into the path; her clothes scraped up and ripped on the stony path. Her head pounded she tried to stay conscious. Luke landed suddenly on top of her, knocking the air out of her.

Heavy footsteps surrounded them. They were inside a circle of bandits.

"No. Sudden. Movements," Thalia commanded.

Slowly she stood up, facing the dark eyed bandits. She saw her horse lying wounded on the ground with an arrow sticking in its right thigh. Anger built up in her chest. They were outnumbered; she could count a dozen bandits all grinning cruelly around her.

She sniffed the air. Humans. Eww...they smelt disgusting.

"Put down your weapons," the leader ordered. His stubbly face grinned at her in a disturbing perverted way.

Thalia put her hand on the hilt of her sword. Every single bandit pointed their weapons at her throat. Luke clung to her leg in terror.

"You really have no idea who you're messing with," Thalia gave them her best sinister smile. Two of the thieves stared back at her with a dreamy smile, their eyes full of lust. She smiled hypnotically back at them. Drool trickled out the corner of their mouths.

She really didn't like humans.

The leader pointed his sword directly at her heart. "It does not matter who you are, only what you are worth. Although I bet you could sell for a good amount."

Creep. Quick as a viper, she stepped back and drew her sword, charging headfirst at the leader. He blocked her strike, though his arm wavered under the pressure. The rest of the bandits started closing in on her and Luke.

_Bang._

"Thalia! I actually managed to use magic!"

"Awesome! Keep going," she yelled, whilst she slashed repeatedly at the bandit leader. She sensed another one coming up behind her, without thinking she kicked backwards and landed her foot in a soft spot.

She heard a scream and was satisfied. This group of puny humans were no match for her. Disarming the leader, she stabbed him right in the gut, twisted the sword and dragged it out. He was shrieking in pain, blood was pouring out his mouth and belly. He collapsed to the ground, writing on the rough stones.

_Bang! _A burst of light erupted from behind her, sending her flying backwards into a tree, along with several bandits.

"Luke!"

"Sorry!" he called back as he continuously blasted the robbers into tree trunks, denting the fine wood. Five of the bandits lay unconscious or dead on the woodland floor; there were nasty bruise on their heads.

Thalia stood up and blocked a strike from an oncoming bandit; she attacked him relentlessly, hardly even tiring from the effort. Finally he gave in and tumbled to the ground, covered in cuts and bruises.

If Annabeth were here, she'd probably faint from all the blood – although on the other hand, she did survive watching both of the first Mellay challenges...

An arrow was flying towards her, she ducked just in time. Sending a beam of energy towards the archer, he fell to the ground screaming in agony. Ahh...sweet music to her ears...

Luke suddenly yelled in panic. Thalia turned her head in his direction.

Time seemed to move in slow motion. A bandit stood far back on a group of rocks, his hand was positioned as if he had just thrown something. A silver dagger was flying straight at Luke's heart...NO! She couldn't think, only act...

She raced towards Luke, tumbling on top of him. He collapsed under her weight, falling heavily to the ground. Pain erupted in her lower back. Her vision was blurry, a pounding started in her ears. She couldn't hear anything but her silent screams of pain. Her back felt like it was on fire, she really hated humans...

She heard a muffled bang...Luke where was he? She couldn't see anything but black now. Her head hurt too much...she couldn't see anything...

But she saved Luke, didn't she?

At least that was something.

* * *

She woke up lying on her stomach, surrounded by a flickering fire light. Blearily, she looked around the night covered forest. Fireflies shimmered between the heavily shadowed trees; a small neat fire was burning next to her.

A familiar looking goblin was sitting next to her...was he _crying_?

"Thalia! You're alive!" he cried into her, hugging her body.

"Elves can't die, silly," she said light heartedly, but she too felt a tear prick at her eye at his vulnerability. She didn't care if he was getting black snot on her shirt, or tear droplets running down her leggings. It was worth it.

"I – I thought y-you were d-dead," he stammered, his red eyes looked at her with emotion. "You were s-so still for so l-long."

Thalia hugged him back, letting him finish crying.

"You saved me..." he said with wonder.

"It's what friends do, don't they?" Thalia told him. "Get some sleep, I'll be alright."

Luke gave her a drowsy smile and curled up on a small rug by the fire. His chest rose and fell evenly, a peaceful expression on his face.

* * *

Annabeth sat on the soft green grass, a sketch book resting on her lap, in her left hand was a lump of charcoal. The new morning sun lit up the distant skyline.

She was sitting in the same place Percy had taken her two nights ago; the landscape had stolen a place in her heart. Her black and white drawing was just as beautiful as the real life scene, it was perfect. Just like the memory of last night.

She remembered sitting on the side of the cliff with Percy, taking in the stunning view...but the memory stopped there. Though she didn't care, it was enough to make her smile.

The sweet salty scent of the ocean filled her nostrils. She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, the sea was nowhere near Athane, and it was at least a few days horse ride. Atlantia was near there. Annabeth admired the King of Atlantia for building his empire there, since it is a dangerous place to live. Mermaids could easily come from their hiding places and attack the nearest villages; the elves that lived there would have no chance.

"You like drawing?"

Annabeth looked backwards. Percy leant against a tree just behind her, as if he had just taken a stroll through the tall pine woods. He looked freakishly handsome like usual, just like Annabeth memories...

"Yeah...it's so beautiful here, I had to draw it," she said smiling at him.

"Um...ok, how do you feel? Are you...feeling...uh...ok?" Percy sat down next to her.

"I'm fine, though I don't know why everyone is asking me this today..." she shrugged and stared deeply into his green eyes. He had a gentle aura of green emanating from his body.

Percy laughed, it made her smile. "It doesn't matter. Follow me, I can show you real stuff to draw."

Without hesitation, Annabeth jumped up and followed him into the forest. She had no clue as to where he was taking her; she just wanted to be with him right now.

He took her hand and led her through a maze of rocks and swaying trees, she felt so peaceful being led by him...like finally she had found the home she was searching for.

They ran down a staircase of crafted rocks and down to an enclosed part of the forest. A singing stream hummed as they walked past. Annabeth looked around in marvel at the remote deserted rocky stream.

Walls of rock stood either side of her, the light of the sun splitting through the gap at the top. The birds chirped all around her, blending in perfect harmony to the rush of the water.

Percy helped her over the stepping stones and onto the other side of the stream. Every time his skin touched hers, she felt warmth stirring in her chest.

"Over there," he pointed slightly upwards to a glittering waterfall in the distance.

Annabeth's eyes lit up. What a painting she could make from the sparkling colours of the water, all those different textures she could paint...

"It's perfect," she breathed. "Race you there!"

She sprinted over the rocks, her sketchbook placed securely under her right arm. She could hear Percy running after her, slowly catching her. She was laughing, all of a sudden she felt free. Completely free, this was who she was and who she should be. Annabeth now knew she didn't belong in a cold gloomy castle, belonging to her husband. Women are equal to men, and she was going to show the world that she didn't have to listen to anyone else; no one could tell her what to do, what to think, how to behave.

Percy overtook her easily; she laughed anyway and ran faster trying to beat him. She suddenly slipped on a moss covered rock and slammed into the ground. Her back flared with pain, her breath had entirely left her.

Percy stopped running and turned back around. She could hear his footsteps getting closer and closer.

"Giving up already?" he smirked, picking her up in his arms. She didn't object.

"Too...slippery...you're really strong..." she managed to say between her breaths. She looked up at Percy's ethereal features, taking in his strong jaw and straight nose. It wasn't fair that his skin was so perfect...there was not one single flaw on his face. To everyone else he looked handsome and abnormally attractive...but to her...he looked alien. No elf should look this handsome...it was true that the elfish race were more elegant and good looking than humans, but Percy was different. Almost like...almost like... he was a...

"Shall I leave you to draw?" Percy asked politely, setting her down by a rock next to the waterfall.

"No...Stay, I like to have company...sometimes," Annabeth flipped open her sketch pad. Her charcoal flew over the white paper, filling it with a rough picture of the waterfall. When she got back home to the castle, she was going to paint a picture that would be remembered for an eternity.

"Have you ever tried drawing people before?"

Annabeth nodded, remembering sneaking around the palace when she was younger and drawing the random guards around the battlements.

"Although, no one ever seems to want to be drawn. I can't find anyone who has the time to sit patiently for an hour whilst I paint them..." she silently hinted at him under her words.

He didn't seem to realise.

"I'm talking about you, seaweed brain," she giggled. "_Please, please, please _can I draw you? I've always wanted to do portraiture properly for someone."

Percy hesitated. "Maybe..."

"Thanks so, so, so, so much!" Annabeth said excitedly, a joyous smile was etched upon her face.

"Does this mean I have to sit still for over an hour?" Percy complained. He stuck his bottom lip out. He looked so adorable...

"Yes! Is that a problem?"

"Uh – no..."

"Perfect," Annabeth smiled. Her mind started envisioning Percy's flawless features drawn onto a clean white canvas. It would truly be perfect.

* * *

"Is your back ok?"

Thalia rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile at the goblin's persistence. "I'm fine; you can stop saying that now."

"Are you sure?"

"_Yes_."

Luke still looked down guiltily as they walked to the end of the forest. Thalia's bag of supplies was slung over her back; her bag of money was still safely strapped to her waist, along with her sword and jewel encrusted dagger.

She pushed open a gate as they strolled out of the woods, it creaked eerily with rust. In the distance, she saw a small little town in the middle of the moorland, smoke was rising from chimneys and she could see carts driving and leaving the entrance.

"We will have to stop there for supplies and another horse," she said, leading them down a small trail through the long cricket infested grass.

"Poor horse," Luke muttered sadly.

"Poor horse," Thalia agreed. She squeezed his hand comfortingly, making him look up at her and beam. "You know, if we don't find a cure at Atlantia, I'll still always be here for you. I promise."

Luke sniffed, his eyes opened wide at her. "Promises," he murmured. "So many promises...you don't have to keep any promises for me. We haven't even known each other long."

Thalia gripped his hand tighter. "It doesn't matter about that. You're my friend and friends don't break promises."

The walked on through the grassy sloping hill in a comfortable silence, towards the petite serene village. Luke gazed in wonder as a multi coloured butterfly flew fluttering across their path, he tried to reach out and grab it.

"You are so childlike," Thalia said, though she was smiling.

"But I love butterflies!" Luke told her seriously. "Do you think they'll have peppermint tea in the shops in the village?"

Weird question...

"Probably, you never know – they might even have spinach tea," Thalia said optimistically. Luke's face split into a grin. He clapped his hands together excitedly.

"I love spinach! Although artichokes are very nice as well... My mother would grow them in our garden – along with cabbages and brussel sprouts!"

Thalia wrinkled her nose. "You like brussel sprouts? – Eww."

Luke looked at her like she was insane. "I love them! How can you not like them? I made brussel sprout soup for Leo once, it reminded me of home..." his eyes suddenly went distant.

"We'll get you back," Thalia said encouragingly, although part of her felt a slight pang at the thought of never seeing him again. "You can go back to your proper family."

Luke was silent for a moment. "Will you visit me? You're part of my family now; I've only ever had my mother to live with. My father left me when I was born, he never visited us once," there was a strange bitter edge to his voice.

For a moment Thalia saw a different side to him. His darker broken side, crueller and filled with hatred. She took his hand again, wanting to bring back his old side.

"Don't hold it against him. He made his own foolish decisions, I'm sure one day he'll realise what he put you through."

Luke nodded, his better side returning back to existence.

"We're here now," Thalia said. "Shall we go and find you some peppermint tea, then?"

A bright spark lit up his red irises.

"Yes!" he started running towards the entrance.

"Luke!" she yelled, sprinting after him. He stopped suddenly, almost making Thalia crash into him. She pulled off her cloak.

"You forgot this," she said, wrapping it his shoulders and pulling up the hood.

"It's too big; I can't wait until I'm actually an elf. I hate being so small," he grumbled, treading over the dirt road and into the village.

A flood of noise drowned Thalia's ears; people all down the streets were advertising their wares and sale prices. She could hear talking everywhere, people meeting each other the streets and chatting to each other happily, a busker played on a banjo next to a small café.

"Let's go there! Please, please, please?"

"Sure, but let's not spend too long," Thalia said, wanting to get to Atlantia as soon as possible.

"Peppermint tea all the way!"

Thalia suppressed a groan. She really hated the smell of peppermint.

* * *

**AN: Bonjour mes amis! Thanks so so so so so much for reviewing, its really nice of you :) **

**So...now I've managed to include the big fat three teas in my story! Maybe i should include coffee...hmm...difficult...**


	15. Hold on that thought

Annabeth shot her eyes open.

Her head suddenly felt clearer, sharper as if she had just plunged out of an ice riddled bath. She sat up in her four poster bed, rifling through her memories of yesterday.

She froze.

What had she been thinking? She had openly giggled in front of that super attra – annoying boy that she hardly even knew. Wait...she had asked to _draw _him.

Annabeth fell back onto her pillows, groaning. That could not have happened. Why on earth would she behave like that? She remembered Thalia storming out of her bedroom because she was yelling that she was different.

_Thalia._ No! She'd disappeared off to Atlantia with a – a _goblin_. No, she was definitely not in her right mind yesterday. How could she have let a goblin in her chambers? Disgusting little...Uhhh...what had happened to her?

Maybe she had just been really happy about something, but she couldn't think what.

Rolling out of bed, she changed into a casual dress. She tied her hair up into a cascade of curls, just like her father had told her to do every day. Apparently it wasn't right for princesses to wear their hair loose.

She opened her chamber door, the sunlight spilled onto her warming her gently.

The citadel clock chimed ten times. Yep, she was late for breakfast. She would have to eat quickly or she would be late for the Mellay which started at eleven.

As she ran down the stairs, she thought of Thalia. What she didn't understand about her was the hostility in her eyes whenever she saw her. Annabeth had no idea what she had done wrong or what gave Thalia a change of heart. _And _just how did she manage to find a goblin? Annabeth paled at the memory of it. Red eyes, small ugly pinched up face. Snot dribbling down his face.

Eww...

She entered the large banquet hall; her father sat at the head of the table, next to him was the King of Atlantia and beside him sat Triton.

Annabeth froze again when another memory slammed back into her. Something was incredibly wrong with her yesterday. She remembered having a normal conversation with Triton...how? Just how? He was a stuck up jerk and there was no way she could ever had spoken to him – and _smiled at him._

"Annabeth, so _pleased _you could finally join us," her father said and then started talking to the King again, as if she weren't important.

Without responding, she sat silently down at her place at the table. Prince Triton leaned over, his warm breath hitting her in the face. It smelt suspiciously like fish.

"Thanks for the chocolate," though he didn't sound very grateful.

"I'm glad you liked it," Annabeth replied in the same tone.

There was a short silence as she reached out and grabbed a piece of bread from the middle of the table. She could feel Triton's piercing gaze upon her.

"You hung out with that peasant yesterday, didn't you?" Triton said, breaking the stillness. His words were harsh and cold.

Annabeth pretended not to know what he was talking about. "What peasant?"

Triton snorted, that could put Thalia to shame. "You know who I mean. Persues. I'm telling you, he's not to be trusted."

"Yeah, well I didn't ask for your opinion," Annabeth snapped at him.

Triton laughed coldly. "He's dangerous, Annabeth. Admit it; you hardly even know who he is. Yet you act like you're best friends."

"It doesn't matter who he is," Annabeth defended, although she didn't know why she was even bothering.

"Hold on that thought," Triton whispered menacingly. His eyes flickered in the light and a cool shiver crept down her spine.

_Hold on that thought._

* * *

"I hate horses, I hate horses," Luke chanted, his teeth chattering as their new horse ran faster and faster. "I love peppermint, l love peppermint."

He started opening his jar, which was full of peppermint tea bags.

"Luke! Don't open it now!" Thalia yelled over the roar of the wind. She gripped Luke's hands and tightened the lid back on.

"I want tea!" he complained miserably.

"You'll get some at Atlantia, ok? I promise, we can stop at a café there," Thalia said sighing. It was like looking after a two year old.

"It's raining!" Luke mentioned helpfully.

Thalia nodded as she looked up at the dark clouds above them. The rain was slowly getting worse, battering down upon them. All she could hear was the plummeting rain. In front of her, Luke had his mouth open at the sky, drinking in the rain, not caring that it splattered heavily on his face.

Her hair blew around her head, in long stringy clumps, having lost their spikiness. Thalia clenched her hands around the reins and pushed the horse faster.

They charged through the storm, drenched head to toe in the rain.

"Thaliaaaa!" Luke was screaming something at her; she couldn't hear him over the constant battering of the wind. "Thaliaaaa! Faster! - Hurry -"

"What?" she shouted over the gale, blinking the water out of her eyes.

"Fi – figure! Chas – Chasing us!"

Without thinking, Thalia dug her heels harder into the horse. It sped forward with immense power and speed. Whatever Luke was talking about, she didn't want to know.

The air around them felt dark, the black clouds above them had cast shadows all around them. Luke was trying to tell her something, his cries were getting more desperate.

"Further in land!" he was screaming. What was he talking about? Her heart raced from the pressure. But she took his advice and pulled the horse to the left, further into the land. Away from the storming sea.

"Faster!" Luke shrieked in horror. He was looking behind at something, his red eyes diluted with fear.

Her heart beat faster and faster, she was pushing the horse to its limits, sooner or later it was going to tire.

Thalia made the mistake to look back.

A dark figure was running at them through the rain. Ferocious green eyes, like emeralds amidst the darkness.

Her breath caught in her throat. She couldn't breathe. Her heart was pounding wildly, she was sure it was going to explode.

"Faster!" Luke was screaming at her. The figure was getting closer and closer.

Thalia blinked back the panic. She focused on the task ahead of her and charged the horse straight towards the gates of Atlantia. The walls shimmered white, guards stood at the entrance. They had seen them and the figure behind them.

Thalia could see them shouting orders at people behind the gate.

_Faster, faster, faster, faster, faster._

The drawbridge was so close now, the moat around was filled with unnaturally green water. Shining just like the emeralds in the darkness.

A single word came into her mind.

Poison.

But not for her. Not for elves, humans or animals. No, it was for a beast so terrible that all of Elfish kind lived in fear of it.

Mermaids.

Everything was crashing down on her. Her reality was crumbling to pieces. They existed. They _actually _existed.

The horses' hooves clattered over the draw bridge, they were inside the gate. The portcullis fell down behind them, trapping them inside the city.

She could finally breathe, though her heart still was pounding rapidly. Luke sighed in relief and hugged his jar of teabags.

But now as she opened her eyes to the tall graceful buildings of Atlantia, she could only gape.

Everything was spotlessly clean, the beautiful towering buildings shone like gems in the pouring rain. Fountains, ice statues, ponds and mosaics covered the entire place. A green mysterious light gave the city a gentle mysterious effect, like it had just emerged from the ocean – still glittering with water and decorated with anemones.

The swirling mosaic pattern under her horses' feet were unlike any other she had seen, it was full of different shades of green, blue and gold. Annabeth would've loved it here, the architecture was just remarkable. High arch ways and domes that bobbed up and down through the streets, it was even more beautiful than the grand hall in Athane. And that was saying a lot.

The people here moved with a regal grace, their feet barely touching the ground as they walked. They all wore expensive valuable clothing, that made Thalia suddenly seemed under dressed in her riding breeches and boy's shirt. A few people looked at her as she and Luke rode through the streets, high up on horseback.

"Do you sense that?" Luke said through the rain. He was shivering dramatically from the cold, or maybe the thrill of the escape.

Thalia tried to see what he was talking about, but she couldn't sense anything. "What is it?"

Luke pointed his snub nose in the air, sniffing like a dog. "A strange presence...it's far below the ground...but it's there, I don't know what it is. Dormant...I think...hmmm..."

"Ok...shall we go into a shop and get a cup of tea to warm you up? You're shivering so much," Thalia suggested, waving the topic off.

Luke looked round at her from the front of the horse. He grinned and held up his peppermint tea bag jar. "Yes please! Can we ask if they've got spinach tea?"

Thalia nodded slowly, though she wasn't sure what shop actually sold spinach tea. "They might have nettle tea, you know? Only the richest can buy nettle tea...it will be a treat."

Luke shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing. "Why would anyone invent nettle tea? What if it stings you?"

Thalia sighed. This really was like speaking to a two year old – though adorable in his own way.

"The nettles won't sting you because it's been heated up – anyway, it's not the leaf that actually stings on a nettle, it's the stem."

"I still think it sound's horrible – how about cabbage tea? Or artichoke tea? My mother use to make artichoke tea..." Luke got lost into memories again.

"Well, we certainly can look for some," Thalia said, glancing round at the shops around them on the street.

She steered the horse down over to a small neat little café and tied the horse to a wooden pole outside. Luke jumped down into her arms, amazingly managing not to spill the jar of peppermint tea.

Thalia wrapped her cloak around his body and they walked into the bustling shop. It smelt of all sort of herbs and spices, a strange aroma hung in the air as well. Though she couldn't detect what it was.

"Thalia? Is that you?"

Thalia's eyes widened. She looked up at the lady in front of her, who promptly gave her a big hug. She smelt of rose petals.

"Aphrodite," Thalia said, trying not to grumble. Last time she had seen Silena's mother, she had tried to set Thalia up with a twenty year old man with acne. She was five at the time.

"Oh, Thalia! It _is _you! I can't believe it, you've grown so much – I mean look at you, you're so _beautiful _– hmmm...let me guess, have you got a boyfriend?"

"Uh...no..."

"So you're married! How wonderful! You _must _tell me all about him, is he cute? Does he have a six pack?" Aphrodite started squealing annoyingly like a pig.

"_No_, I'm not married. I'm still single and that's how it's going to stay," Thalia said firmly.

Aphrodite pouted; she put her hands on her hips. "But a beautiful girl like you can't stay _single _all your life, you must at least hook up with a few people! How can you let this beauty go to waste? Please don't say you're gonna end up like Artemis? She's over two hundred now and _still _a virgin," Aphrodite looked absolutely horrified at the thought.

"I – uh – think I better go..." Thalia said, backing away from the crazy woman. Aphrodite looked startled when she saw them leaving.

"Wait! Don't go, I'll give you free discounts off my newest hot drinks," she pleaded.

Luke stared at Thalia with his big red eyes.

Thalia huffed in exasperation. "Fine, as long as you stop talking about my love life."

Aphrodite nodded and went behind the counter. "So what can I get you? Nettle tea is very in fashion right now, maybe you would like to try some fruit teas? Oh, I know! We've just had a new batch of drink in – I've called it coffee, you want to try some?"

"Um...ok. What about you Luke?"

Luke considered. "Nettle tea, please."

Thalia stared down in confusion at Luke. "I thought you didn't like nettle tea," she hissed. Luke shrugged.

"Really? I never said that – anyway it's a treat," he smiled cheekily up at Thalia, who rolled her eyes at him.

"It's really expensive...ten gold coins for a single cup of tea..."

"Pleeeeese?"

"Have you made up your mind?" Aphrodite asked pleasantly. She hadn't really noticed that Luke was a goblin yet.

"Ok, um...one nettle tea and one cup of cuffee?"

"Coffee," Aphrodite corrected. "Since you're friends I'll give you a very generous discount at 50% off! So that's seven gold pieces please."

Thalia dropped the money in her hand and Aphrodite collected the readymade drinks from the shelves.

"Thanks," Thalia said, sitting down at a small wooden table, Luke sat next to her sipping his tea peacefully.

Aphrodite sat down in front of them, her face lit up with untold gossip. Just like her daughter. "So how's Annabeth then? I heard that Prince Triton – he is so cute by the way – he's going to marry Annabeth. It's going to be the biggest wedding in history! Not that Triton will actually stay faithful to her, he takes after his father so much," she smiled dreamily.

Thalia gagged on the coffee, its taste was too unfamiliar in her throat. "So Triton isn't going to stay faithful? That's horrible."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Nah, it's just life, Thalia. It's the nature of elves – especially Triton's you see? Oh, you should have seen the King of Atlantia – he's had _soooo _many flings with countless amounts of women..."

"Are you included?" Thalia said whilst trying to get the bitter taste of coffee out of her mouth.

Aphrodite gasped in mock hurt. She clasped a hand over her heart. "Me? Of course not – that would be disgusting. Just...Eww...although I have to say that the king is very handsome."

Thalia gagged though this time it wasn't on coffee.

"Gossip says that Prince Triton is having an affair with a maid from his own castle – can you imagine how wrong that is? Uhhh _and _he's getting married to Annabeth so soon," Aphrodite carried on aimlessly.

"Right..." Thalia tried to zone out, she really didn't like this conversation. Next to her, Luke tugged on her shirt, wanting attention.

"She's really pretty," he whispered.

Thalia wrinkled her nose. "You say that about everyone."

"Are you going to my daughter's wedding? I hope to be going as well, though I have no idea why she would want to have a long lasting relationship..._with a blacksmiths son_. I know he's muscular and all...but he's not going to bring in much money for the family, is he?" Aphrodite complained. She twiddled with a piece of her hair as she spoke.

"Yes, I'm going. I'm going to be a bridesmaid for her – I have to wear this light blue dress, ewwww..."

Aphrodite clapped her hands together in delight. "Wow, you're going to look amazing, I've hardly even seen you wear a dress before – you will look incredible, trust me."

_I don't trust you though_ she wanted to say. "It's only for a day and then I'm going back to my black clothes."

"What a shame – you should be like Annabeth, she wears dresses _all _the time. That's how a proper lady picks up men."

"Can we stop talking about this?"

"No..." Aphrodite said. "So why are you in Atlantia today? It's pouring with rain – you look drenched, your hair has gone disastrous!"

"Thanks for pointing that out," Thalia muttered. "We're here to find a physician for Luke – this little guy, he's a goblin and we need to turn him back to an elf."

Aphrodite patted Luke's head from over the table. "Aww...he's so small. The person you need to find is Apollo – the best healer since...well...forever. You'll find him in his chambers in the castle; he likes dark places so you might want to look near the dungeons. That's where he usually works. Did I mention he is really hot?"

"No you didn't – we need to get going. Thanks for the discount," Thalia got up from the table. Her half full cup of coffee unfinished.

Luke followed her out of the door.

"Come back for more coffee whenever you like!" Aphrodite called.

Thalia didn't reply as she left the small café. She untied her horse and helped Luke get on and then sat in the saddle behind him.

Kicking the horse lightly in the side, they started making their way through the winding roads and streets. They rode up to the entrance of the palace courtyard, the rain soaking into their clothes again.

Thalia climbed off the horse and helped Luke down, who insisted of carrying his jar of teabags with him. She stared up in wonder at the splendour of the palace; it was ten times more stunning than the one in Athane, with its gems encrusted white walls and a hypnotising glow that shone around it. Tall towers reached into the sky, the whole building was a maze of complicated architecture, polished to every inch.

Thalia led Luke up the mosaic studded steps up to the castle. Two well armoured guards stopped them at the top.

"State your name and your business."

"I'm Thalia Grace and this is my friend Luke. We want to see the physician," she told them boldly and with respect.

One of them raised an eyebrow.

"Zeus' kid, huh? Sure, I'll escort you down to Apollo's chambers," he said gruffly.

Thalia wondered how he knew her father, maybe it was because he was friends with the King of Atlantia. She had seen them get into a carriage together – but it still mystified her as to where they were going.

"Wait...who's Zeus?" the second guard asked with confusion.

"It doesn't matter, don't worry you small head about it," the first guard said irritably.

He turned around and led them down a spiralled staircase, picking up a flaming torch on the way. It was getting darker and darker as he led them further down into the ground.

She could hear a slow dripping noise in the background.

The staircase stopped and she found herself in an underground passage way that was dimly lit by green lighted torches.

Empty chains hung off the walls, cobwebs shone forebodingly in the lighting. Thalia felt Luke clutch her hand in fright; it almost felt like someone was watching them from behind. Slowly following them...ready to reach out and grab their shoulders.

She shivered at the thought, though she couldn't help but frantically look behind her.

Nothing.

There was nothing there. She almost laughed out loud for being so superstitious, there was nothing following her...nothing...nothing.

The guard stopped outside of a wooden door, a light shone from inside of it. The guard knock on it twice and waited.

A few seconds later, it opened. Revealing a tall youthful looking blond haired man. His eyes looked golden in the lighting – or maybe they were actually golden.

"Hello?"

The guard coughed and stood straighter. "I've got some patients for you, Apollo – hopefully you'll return them all in one piece..." he silently hinted at something.

Apollo rolled his eyes and winked flirtatiously at Thalia, who automatically glared at him. "Feisty ones? Well this is new – come on in into my...er...lair."

Without looking at him, Thalia walked into the cold musty room. Apollo sat them both down on old wooden chairs that looked very unstable.

"So what's the problem? Ear ache, lung disease? Love potions?"

"It's my friend Luke. He got turned into a goblin and I was hoping you could turn him back to an elf," Thalia pulled down Luke's hood.

Apollo studied him intently, his fingers locked together. "Hmm...Open your mouth please..."

He looked into Luke's mouth, for about ten minutes straight whilst Thalia fidgeted on her seat.

"Yes...this is a most interesting case, it may take four or five days to complete – would you two like to stay here in these chambers? It's perfectly alright for me; I promise that your friend will be perfectly normal again very soon."

"Uh – ok? We don't have anywhere else to stay I suppose..."

"Yay! I'm going to be an elf again!" Luke said happily.

"Yes, now shall we begin?" Apollo said. He winked again at Thalia. She glared at him, her eyes smouldering.

"Ok, ok – Luke, can you lie on this bed? I'm just going to start making the potion..."

Luke enthusiastically lay on the bed that was next to the wall. Thalia hoped that this process of transformation wasn't going to be painful for him.

* * *

Annabeth sat tall and composed in the royal box, Thalia's seat next to her was empty. She wondered what she was getting up too right now...

Her father was stood up, addressing all of the remaining contestants in the arena. The arena itself was empty, just like the first challenge. Annabeth listened to her father explaining the rules of challenge three. Although it didn't look like much.

"– will be a test of your emotional strength, you must be able to not fall unconscious whilst defeating the pressure of the void and also physically defeat your opponent. The first to fall unconscious will not make it to the next round."

The contestants left the arena, amongst them all she saw a familiar mop of black hair. He looked up and smiled at her, even from this distance, Annabeth could see his green eyes sparkling at her. Her heat beat quickly and she felt a blush rise up in her face.

There was a flashed of white teeth. Eeek...he noticed...

He was the last one to leave the arena, just before a dark mist seemed to shroud the arena, like a blanket of death. A rush of cool air rose from the ground, but it stopped before it reached her. As if something was holding it back.

A barely visible shield of energy protected the stands of the spectators. Leaving the arena in a cocoon of shadows.

She could feel pure evil rising from the ground, what was happening?

The drums sounded for the first pair of contestants to come on. The darkness split before them as they made their way to the centre of the arena. Their faces were prepared for anything.

The drums sounded again and the darkness closed in on them. The results were immediate. One of them fell down to his knees clutching his head in agony. Annabeth heard him crying out; she clutched the sides of her chair in fright. What was happening? What was happening?

The second contestant's legs wavered as he tried to focus and take a step forward. He tried to swipe at his opponent, but his sword completely missed. His movements were unsteady, as if he were drunk. But his expression...it was so full of pain.

The man on his knees got shakily up and dragged the other mans shoulders, pulling him down to the floor. Both of them tumbled down to the ground, fumbling for their daggers and swords. But they couldn't find them, something was stopping them.

It was all over so quickly. The first contestant gave up; his body lay limp on the floor. His face was freakishly white.

The drums were hit again and the darkness cleared for the time being, allowing the servants to carry off the unconscious contestant. The crowd were screaming for more action and blood as the winner unevenly left the arena.

"That was short," the King of Atlantia remarked with disappointment.

"Really? Don't blame that on me, it was one of your _Atlantians_ who lost," King Frederic retorted sharply.

The king shut his mouth; his eyes flashed a dangerous colour.

* * *

Percy could sense the stirring evil from behind the doors; it tried to draw him in. Like the tortured souls crying out for justice.

The doors opened before him as the drums were hit. Heracles stood next to him; his face was contorted in a smug smile.

It was just his luck to be partnered with Heracle's. Of all the stuck up and arrogant retard's, it had to be him.

The darkness split before them as they made their way to the middle of the arena. They stood opposite each other, face to face. Heracles flexed his muscles, showing off his repulsive biceps. Percy heard the crowd screaming Heracles name...he had won the Mellay for five years in a row...

The drums pounded suddenly and the darkness closed in on itself.

He heard screaming, a mighty force was banging into his conscience. Dark tendrils of energy wrapped around him, filling him with a sense of emptiness and despair.

But he ignored it.

It was that simple.

In front of him, Heracle's was gritting his teeth, sweat was pouring down his forehead as he tried battling the invisible force. He was swinging his swords in random directions, trying to hit Percy.

The sword came straight down on top of him. The crowd screamed in appreciation. But Percy caught it, between the palms of his hands. He kneed Heracle's in a soft spot and wrenched his sword out of his grip.

Heracle's stumbled backwards, trying not to howl in pain as he bent over double.

Percy flipped him over his shoulder, as if he weighed nothing. Heracle's crashed face first into the ground; he rolled over onto his back. His face was scrunched up with pain.

_This is so easy_.

Percy hoisted him up by his feet again and threw him like a javelin across the arena. He heard the crowd yelling and cheering for him. On the other side of the arena, Heracle's twitched...oops...not unconscious yet.

He'd soon sort that out.

Racing through the shadows towards him, Percy drove his dagger into Heracle's abdomen, making him whimper and writhe on the ground until he went limp.

He waited for any signs of movement, but none came.

The drums started up again – annoyingly – and the shadows melted away. The pressure was released from his head. Maybe he was kind of cheating in these games. He did have an unfair advantage, since he wasn't fully elf.

Though it wasn't like he chose to be a hybrid. It wasn't his fault that he is what he is.

* * *

**AN: Bonsoir! Its over forty thousand words and still has LOADS more to come...eeek! Thank you for reading peoples!**

**btw: I like coffee. Just wanted to mention that...**

**Pffft, well review if you liked the chapter :)! Au revoir **


	16. Promises

"This is hopeless," she complained, her eyes smouldering. "I can't remember it! Have you tried persuading the King?"

He nodded, though his eyes were troubled. "He won't listen, he's too stubborn. I daren't say anymore, he is already suspicious of me."

She started pacing around the room, muttering. "If only we had that diary – remember? She wrote down everything inside it. But it was lost...But if we find it..."

"It could be the start of a new era..."

"Or the start of the bloodiest war in history."

"Then why do we even bother, if it will start a war?" he asked.

She stopped pacing. "Because, it might not even start a war...it depends on how nature turns."

"So are we going to continue with this?"

"Yes, but first we need that diary. You must look _everywhere_. I will search as well."

He nodded grimly.

* * *

Drip...drip...drip...

Thalia clenched her teeth in aggravation; the constant _dripping _was seriously bugging her. She tossed and turned in her bed, trying to find a comfortable place on her pillow.

Drip...drip...drip...

The night air was too humid; she longed to get out of this dungeon. The roof above her felt like it was going to collapse any moment...

Drip...drip...drip...

She tried shutting her eyes, but her mind was too wide awake. Luke was lying asleep in another chamber, though she could hear his snoring too well.

Drip...drip...drip...

She couldn't stand this. Thalia shot out of bed, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. There was no way she could go to sleep whilst she felt so awake. But there was nothing she could do except pacing around the small room.

Standing up, she felt something. It wasn't physical...but it was powerful. Now Thalia understood what Luke had meant by sensing something. Closing her eyes, she focused on it, clearing her mind of every other thought. It was like looking into a dark expanse...the energy felt like it was sleeping. Not dead...but somehow suppressed. But what was it?

Stumbling her way through the darkness, Thalia found the door to her room and then opened it silently.

Drip...drip...drip...

A stream of moonlight floated down from the jail windows. Using the light, she carefully opened the door into the dungeon corridor.

Drip...drip...drip...

The never ending green fire lit up the hall way, though the walls still felt dark and gloomy as she wandered through them. The presence was getting stronger by each step, overwhelming her senses. A wash of sea air met her, but she didn't know where it came from.

A light gust of wind blew her hair gently, making chains on the side of the walls rattle and clink. Tremors of thrills and excitement flooded into her as she searched for the source of the power. A faint smell of salt was in the air – maybe it was because Atlantia was near the sea...or maybe it was something different.

Drip...drip...drip...

She was closer now, her eyes managed to see a door through the darkness. There was no turning back now. Whatever was behind that door felt...dangerous. Trepidation filled her as she pushed it.

Locked.

Why was she even doing this? The thing behind this door must be something evil or corrupting – otherwise, why would it even be locked up?

But Thalia wanted to know, because she was naturally curious. Simple as that.

Drip...drip...drip...

Whatever that drip was, she seriously wanted it to stop.

Summoning her courage, Thalia harnessed her magic and released a spell. A burst of white energy wrapped around her hand and latched onto the door. Then the light died down and the energy dissolved in nothingness.

Great. It was protected with magic. Thalia shut her eyes and let loose the biggest spell she could. If Annabeth had managed to put one hundred warriors to sleep, then Thalia could unlock a door.

Suddenly there was a silent explosion of pure white, Thalia shielded her eyes with her arm, as it lit up the tunnel in a pale ghostly colour.

Drip...drip...drip...

The door creaked open.

Thalia's heart pounded in apprehension as she snuck into the large prison cell.

There were no windows at all, the only source of light was a green fire that burned on a torch. A shadow loomed up against the damp mouldy wall. Thalia's heart leapt in fear, but her curiosity got the better of her.

Drip...drip...drip...

There was a figure hidden in the shadows. It didn't move one bit as Thalia crept closer and closer. She cast a small flaming ball of fire in her hand, so she could see...

Drip...drip...drip...

It was a woman. Was that really it? Thalia looked closer at her features, serene, beautiful, and dormant. Her skin looked dry...so dry. She didn't breath, though Thalia knew that she wasn't dead. A thin white dress clung to her body...

Drip...drip...drip...

No, it couldn't be. The realization struck Thalia hard.

Drip...drip...drip...

"_A_ _Mermaid_," she breathed quietly.

But how could it be a mermaid? Mermaids weren't supposed to survive on land for more than a day...although this one didn't look exactly alive.

A sudden pang of pity welled up in her heart. The mermaids' face was so peaceful, how could she possibly be evil?

A memory came back to her.

Ferocious emerald eyes, chasing after them. Mr Brunner's lessons about mermaids were all coming back to her. They were all evil...they had no soul...they feasted on the flesh of humans and elves...

But – but this wasn't right? How could the mermaid in front of her be a killer? She had such a kind face; her features were more compassionate than many elves she had seen.

Around the mermaids' wrist were heavy metal shackles, attached to chains that were embedded into the wall. Thalia stared at the chains, wondering what to do.

There was no way she could rescue her, the guards would stop her and throw them both into the dungeons.

But...how could she just leave her here? It didn't feel right...but she couldn't do it on her own. Thalia knew that she wasn't strong enough to carry her all the way to the sea. She needed help, but whom? Her mind ran through all of the possibilities.

Her father? No, he definitely wouldn't agree to this, since he was somehow friends with the King of Atlantia.

Annabeth? No...She wouldn't be able to; Annabeth wasn't able to help her with magic until she was sixteen.

Luke? Yes...when he turned elf again, he could help her. But she'd have to wait for another few days until she could actually ask him.

"I'll come back for you," Thalia reassured, though she wasn't sure if the mermaid could hear.

For a moment nothing happened. Then suddenly a warm glow engulfed Thalia, filling her with warmth and gratitude. Visions floated into her mind, throwing her back into memories.

"Don't go, don't risk it..." a violet eyed woman was saying to her.

The images changed into distorted pictures of elves...people...trees...

A cheerful curly haired boy was smiling at her. His face was so familiar...

"You know I would do anything for you..."

The images and memories blurred and words muffled in her ears.

"I thought I could trust you – I thought that you loved me -"

"No! Please – I – I'm sorry -"

Nausea filled her head, making her feel giddy and unbalanced.

And then the light faded. Thalia blinked, she only realised then that she had been holding her breath. Her hands shook from the shock; she really had not expected this. Thalia looked back down at the mermaid. A small smile was on her face, though it was the saddest smile she had ever seen.

A ball of emotion welled up in her throat. Softly she stood up and left the room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock._

"Who is it?" Annabeth said suspiciously, putting her paintbrush down.

"Uh – Percy..."

Oh, perfect. That idiot. Since her bodyguard is off duty today, Percy could easily take advantage of her...

The door opened without her even saying 'yes'. So he was rude as well? What if she were undressing or something?

Percy looked into her chambers, a grin stretched over his face. Annabeth stared emotionlessly back at him, her arms folded.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, as he let himself into the circular room.

"You...er...wanted to draw me and since I've got free time now..."

"I'm in the middle of painting."

Percy stepped forward, examining her picture of the flowing waterfall. It wasn't finished and she hated it when people saw any of her pictures unfinished.

"It's amazing."

"You're just saying that," Annabeth said, turning her back to him and picking her paintbrush up again.

"So...shall I go?"

Annabeth thought about that. "No, I still have to draw you."

"Can you stop doing that?"

Annabeth looked back at him innocently. "Stop doing what?"

"Changing your mind."

"I don't change my mind," Annabeth said, getting up and pulling a plain white canvas from the curved wall. "You go and sit there."

Annabeth pointed to the large window sill and went so low, it almost touched the floor. Percy sat down gingerly, fidgeting with his fingers.

"Hmm...No, your shoulders are too stiff – loosen them up slightly," Annabeth told him.

"Sorry," Percy muttered, trying to relax his posture.

"It's...a bit better, remember hold still," Annabeth reminded. Her hand then flew over the plain white canvas, sketching an outline of his face and body.

"So what is your name, then?" Percy asked curiously.

"Annabeth Chase."

"Oh...uh – that's a nice name..." he said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Don't move!" Annabeth commanded swiftly.

"Sorry," Percy apologised and quickly put his hand back of the window sill.

There was a heavy silence. The only sound was Annabeth's pencil scratching out the picture on the canvas.

"Percy...how did you survive all on your own in the wilderness?"

Percy bit his lip, as if she was stepping on a perilous topic. He didn't answer for a while, like he was trying to figure out what was safe to say.

"When I was young this woman found me. She lives on her own, though she cared and helped me for my childhood. I don't think I would be here without her," he spoke slowly, in a tone that made Annabeth immediately distrustful.

"What is her name?" Annabeth pressed on, wanting to know more about him.

Percy paled slightly. He was looking anywhere but Annabeth's eyes.

"Uh – you wouldn't know her anyway," he was such a bad liar.

"That's not an answer," Annabeth said. She put her pencil down and stared piercingly into his eyes.

Percy laughed nervously. "Not like it's any of your business."

So he was using that defence? Annabeth scowled at him. "I'm the Princess of Athane, it is my business."

"Uh – no it's not, _princesses _are not supposed to interrogate random people. It's not in their job description," Percy shot back at her.

"You obviously don't know anything about an empire, then?" Annabeth said glaring at him, furiously. "You could be a threat to the kingdom."

"I'm not, though," Percy told her.

"But you haven't proved that! I don't know what side you're on – you could be a secret assassin for all I know!" Annabeth stood up from her chair, her stormy grey eyes terrifyingly bright.

Percy stood up to face her. "I'm nothing like that. Why can't you just trust me?"

"Because...uh – you're so annoying!"

"Why am I? What have I done that's annoying?"

For once in her life, Annabeth was stumped. She really didn't know what to answer; all of her thoughts had disappeared. Leaving her feeling lost in a mist of emotion.

"I...I...don't know..." She said quietly. He was standing close to her...their noses were inches apart. She could smell his sweet salty breath, just like an ocean breeze.

"Then stop getting angry," Percy replied softly, gripping her hands.

A spark of energy flew through her body at the small contact. She looked dazedly up at his face, her heart beat quickly. If she leaned up ever so slightly, her lips would be on his...

Annabeth snapped out of it; she hated feeling weak like this. Letting her emotions get the better of her, leaving her senses behind.

She pulled her hands out of his and left her own chambers. All she wanted was to get away from him; Annabeth knew it would do her no good to even feel this way. She was getting married soon...why was she feeling like this to another boy?

Annabeth promised herself that she was going to be faithful to Prince Triton, even if she didn't like him. There was no way she was going to cheat on him. Ever.

So she slammed the door behind her, without looking back at Percy. Her picture was discarded, but she didn't care. Until Percy had left her chambers, she wasn't going back in.

She ran quickly down the staircase and made her way into the walled gardens at the back of the palace gardens. The fresh air was calming for her as she breathed it in. The beautiful shrubbery and design of the gardens lay out before her, the peaceful sound of a fountain hummed in her ears.

The walled gardens in front of her were built up with stone, but held a secret treasure of plants inside. Pushing open a gate, Annabeth took in the serene view of the garden. She remembered coming down here all the time when she was little, her and Thalia would play amongst the flowers and trees for hours.

A shimmering pond was lying at the centre of the garden; its sapphire blue water glittered in the sunlight. She sat down cross legged by the side and stared at her reflection.

And she sat there, just listening to the sweet song of the birds, staring into the dark waters.

Why was everything so complicated? Why did she have to get married to someone she didn't know? The more she thought about it, the more she realised just how alone she felt.

Annabeth has plenty of friends, but none of them were proper friends...just ones that she would occasionally chat to, but she wouldn't tell them anything personal to them. The only person she truly could trust was Thalia. But Thalia was so independent; she had no need for Annabeth anymore. She felt like Thalia has changed, she didn't know why. Annabeth rarely hung out with Thalia anymore, she only saw her in lessons, but she never smiled. She only stared at Annabeth suspiciously and mistrustfully.

Out of all things, Annabeth hated being alone the most.

"Annabeth."

She ignored him. Her heart clenched painfully for some reason.

"Go away," she told him, not even looking round to see him.

Instead he disobeyed her and sat down by her side. Annabeth could see his perfect reflection in the still water.

"What do you want?" Annabeth asked, still staring at the water. All boys wanted something if they kept pestering girls.

"I just wanted to see if you're ok...and you're not, obviously," he said, though his voice wasn't angry like she expected. It was kind...the kindest voice she had ever heard before...

She felt him brush a loose tear off her cheek. When had she started crying? The thought of her showing weakness felt embarrassing, although with Percy it felt almost comforting...

"It's ok to cry," he said, reminding her of the first time she met him.

"I...I'm just...scared," she said as she gazed at her reflection. "I don't know who to trust, I just...want someone to depend on..." her voice sounded so small.

To her surprise, she felt strong arms wrap lightly around her. A beautiful warmth spread through her...and for once in her life, she felt at home. Completely at home.

"I'll always be here for you," Percy said tenderly.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

* * *

**AN: Hey! sorry for the shorter chapter, just got back from holiday and my internet has been dodgy - so i have to connect to the cable but still will be updating :) THanks for reviewing!**

**Have i done a disclaimer? eek!**

**All rights go to Rick Riodon - because he is an amazing author! **

**soooo...au revoir! gtg to school now - actually i've got another half hour until i have to leave but oh well. I'm trying to get this story finished quickly because I don't want it to clash with GCSE's which is next year...i _might _have the story finished by christmas or shortly afterwards hopefully.**


	17. Leaves (and alcohol)

Leo shut the diary and placed it carefully on his bedside table. The shouting had started again in the other room next to his, it was making his head hurt painfully. Why couldn't they shut up? He tossed and turned on his bed, trying to drown out the noise.

"- spend all your time with friends – _flirt _with loads of other boys that you don't even know-"

"It's not like I'm being serious! I don't mean it at all – you know that I love you!" a more feminine voice shouted just as loudly.

"How do you expect me to believe that? You never spend any of your time with me and if you are you're gossiping about your latest crushes – _I'm_ your fiancé-"

"Well I'm sorry if you can't accept me for who I am," the girl literally screamed back. "It's not like I still sleep with random guys."

There was silence. Leo sighed in relief. He could finally relax.

Low sounds started up again from the room, Leo groaned at the annoying voices. Didn't they know it was the late evening? Hopefully the manager would go up and tell them off...

The voices got louder. "No! Don't go – what about our wedding? It was all in the past – I love you now!" the girl pleaded desperately.

The gruff masculine voice didn't reply, but Leo heard a door slam on the corridor.

Leo hated arguments, even more than people disturbing his sleep. It brought back too many memories; the argument was the only clear thing in his mind. But it was such a long time ago; there was no way it could resolve. Fifteen...sixteen years since it had happened, he remembered the date – he remembered how he had felt.

Everything he loved was taken from him that day, all those emotions at once...they felt like they were crushing him to pieces.

* * *

"How do you cure madness?" Thalia asked the physician, the heat of a candle warmed her fingertips.

Apollo smiled at her. "There is no cure for madness. None at all."

Shock flooded into her. "But – but there must be a way!"

Apollo shook his head sadly, writing something down on a piece of yellowish paper. "Not even the strongest magic can cure madness. It's not something like a leg wound or a bruise; they are physical things and can easily be solved with magic. Madness is in your mind – it's not something physical and neither is magic. Put two non physical things together and nothing happens."

So Leo has no hope then? Thalia down casted her eyes to the table top.

"But...there can be a way..." Apollo said, twiddling his quill around his fingers. "If there was a physical potion or elixir that could cure madness – it might work. But no one has ever discovered how to make it. Not even I can make it and if I can't then there's no chance."

Big headed much...

"An object or even a person could probably help though – it might be easier. It might make the diseased person regain his sane memories..." Apollo continued in a bored voice.

Thalia's eyes lit up. That's it. If Leo could somehow tell her someone he knew...maybe Thalia could find him or her and Leo will be cured.

"Thanks," Thalia said getting up from the table.

"Anytime sweet cheeks," Apollo replied giving her a dazzling smile. His perfect white teeth momentarily blinded her.

She rolled her eyes and turned her back to him, making her way towards Leo's bedroom. He was still under the influence of potions and was in a semi conscious state.

Pushing open the small creaky door, her gaze fell upon Luke's slightly misshapen figure. Looking closer at him Thalia could barely recognise him.

His usual bright red eyes were shut as he lay peacefully on the bed. His greasy hair wasn't so greasy anymore and it was turning a lighter colour – more like blonde. Was it her imagination or was he taller? It was hard to tell when he was lying down, but he definitely looked more slender and graceful. Though the most change was his nose. Before it had been just a spotty snub with black goo dripping out, but now...now it was sharper, more pointed. Most of the spots had disappeared.

It was like looking at a cross between an elf and a goblin.

"You've been a good friend," she whispered softly to him, though she knew that he couldn't hear her. "It's going to be hard saying goodbye...I can't imagine life without you. You've got such a unique heart – I'm...just going to miss you when you go. Don't ever change."

"I won't."

Thalia jumped in alarm, her eyes narrowed in anger. "You've been listening the _whole _time?"

Luke opened his eyes, which were now a light purplish colour. "Yes. Didn't you want me too?"

"Uh..."

"It was nice what you said," Luke cut in. "You're a good friend as well."

"You still weren't meant to listen," Thalia pointed out, glaring at him.

"Then why did you say it right in my ear, then?"

"It wasn't in your ear."

"Was!"

"Wasn't!"

"Was!"

"Wasn't!"

"WAS!"

"WASN'T!"

"Can you buy me some chocolate?"

"No! It's night time," Thalia said, folding her arms.

"But I'm hungry! Pleeeeese?" Luke gave her big eyes.

"The shops won't be open."

"Yes they are! They stay open all the time in Atlantia – so please can you buy me some?"

Thalia sighed. "Only this once."

Luke grinned happily. "Yay!"

With a groan, Thalia got up from the floor and picked up a small bag of coins, leaving the dungeons hurriedly. She ran up the spiralled staircase, not looking back once at the cobweb infested tunnels. Her footsteps clanged heavily on the metal steps and then softened as she started walking over the cold mosaic coated streets of Atlantia.

It surprised her that there were still a lot of elves wandering around; there was a massive crowd of them gathered round an open fire. Someone was talking from the middle of the circle, gesturing wildly to the audience.

His story telling voice rang loud and clear, that even Thalia could hear it from far away.

"– a story of betrayal and devious enchantment. Although is this really a story? Or some twisted history that happened not that long ago...so gather round, gather round -"

His voice got quieter and quieter as she turned the corner and headed down a narrow street, where the shadows were longer and more sinister the further she walked.

A burning torch of green fire was hung next to a sign that said 'Beauregard's finest chocolate'. Thalia smiled when she saw Silena's little sweet smelling shop. The lights were still on inside and a sign on the door said 'open'

The chime of a bell rang as she pushed open the door. Her eyes fell upon the many shelves of neatly wrapped chocolate and truffles.

"Needing any help?"

The haughty voice startled her.

Thalia spun around to face a tall black haired boy with an eye patch over one of his eyes. He was standing a bit too close for liking and his hand was dangerously near her bag of coins.

"Are you a pirate?" Thalia spurted out before she could stop herself.

The guy smiled cruelly.

"I take that as a yes?" Thalia said, irritated that he didn't answer.

"Yes...so...if you've got any gold you better hand it over, before I..." he swiped a finger across his throat.

Thalia almost laughed at his failed attempt to look scary. "Did Silena put you up to this?"

"No, can I have your bag of gold?"

"Uh – no," Thalia said backing away from him; she gripped the bag in her left hand tightly.

The 'pirate' pouted. "But I need it – Captain K is going to kill me if I don't!"

Thalia nodded slowly and sarcastically. "Captain K? Can you stop pretending now? Who actually are you?"

"Ethan, Ethan Nakamura...and for your information I _am _a pirate – but don't tell Silena though! She'll sack me and then I won't be able to rob all of her customers whilst she's away," he looked terrified at the thought.

"Ooook...can I buy this bar of chocolate?" Thalia held up a ribbon tied chocolate bar.

Ethan's brown eye sparkled in glee. "Yes! Of course! That's twenty gold coins."

Thalia gaped. "No way! You're lying, it's not that expensive – I'll give you four coins, ok?" she dropped them into his outstretched hand.

His face fell. "But...Kronos will kill me if I don't steal enough – I'm a hopeless pirate..."

"You could just not be a pirate," Thalia suggested.

"He'll kill me if I quit, anyway I'm stealing all of your gold if you don't give it to me."

Without warning he pounced on her, toppling her to the floor. She rolled to the side as a sword came down on her head. Jumping up she unsheathed her own sword and blocked another charge from Ethan. He was quicker than she thought he was, but Thalia was still faster and stronger. She kicked him right in the head, sending him flying into a table, splitting in into two.

Packets of chocolate tumbled down from the shelves as he crashed into them; sprinkles of white topping decorated his hair like dandruff. He stood up murderously and leaped not to gracefully over the broken table, slashing repeatedly at Thalia. A small line of blood appeared on her arm, making her grit her teeth in pain.

Quickly she side stepped one of his strikes and hit the flat of her blade on his head. Ethan stumbled backwards falling out of the door and into the street. Thalia charged again and stabbed multiple times at Ethan, blocking each of his weak attempts to thwart her, at ease.

"You can't defeat a pirate!" he yelled. "Kronos will find you, you can't hide forever!"

"Then let him find me!" Thalia, kicking him again and making him fall to the ground. "See if I care."

Night guards were running towards them, their torches eerily lighting up the narrow street. They carried shields and swords, engraved with pictures of tridents.

"He's a pirate!" Thalia called, pointing her sword at Ethan's neck. "He tried to rob me!"

The guards hoisted the barely conscious pirate up and half dragged him away from Thalia.

"Pirate, huh? Let's see how you survive in the dungeons," a guard growled.

Ethan's nose dripped with blood. "Kronos...will...find...you..." he managed to say, before he got taken away down the road.

Thalia snorted, not in the least bit scared of his threat. She pocketed the chocolate...and bumped straight into a short obese man.

"Waaatch where yer goinggg," he mumbled, his breath smelt strongly of wine. "Not nice to beat uhp dee – defenthless civiliaannns... "

"Drunk civilians more like," Thalia muttered.

"I'm...I'm nott drunnk," he slurred, almost falling head first in Thalia. "Come on inthide – I've gert free beerrr for eveeryone tonight. Maajor party..."

"Uh – I've got to get back," Thalia told him, trying to manoeuvre around him.

The guy promptly threw up on her feet. Lovely. She pushed him away from her.

"Don't goooo!" he persisted, stumbling towards her. "The – thhe king even likes my wine, hee gert a whol' crateful off me the other dayy."

"The king did?"

The man nodded drunkenly, his eyes rolled in the back of his head for a split second. "ee said somefing 'bout ferick leeaves – dunno why, think 'ees a bit crazy if yer ask me..."

Ferick leaves. The name rang a bell in Thalia's mind, but she couldn't think what it was.

"I need to go."

"Nooo!" he grabbed her arm. Thalia harshly flung him off her and he went sprawling on the ground, as soon as his head hit the mosaic patterns, gigantic snores heaved out of his mouth.

Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Thalia strode away, returning her sword back to its sheath.

* * *

"Silena! What's the matter?" Annabeth said, her eyebrows tilting upwards in worry.

The tear faced girl flung herself into Annabeth's arms, crying openly.

"Do you want to tell me," Annabeth said kindly, as she let go. They both sat on Annabeth's large poster bed, Silena dabbed a well used handkerchief to her eyes.

"I've been so – so _horrible_..." Silena said through gulps. "Charlie left me. Our wedding is over."

The candle light flickered as Silena continued to sob. Annabeth put a reassuring hand over her shoulders.

"What happened? Maybe he'll forgive you."

Silena shook her head. "I...I c – can't undo the past...he th – thinks I'm a...whore now...I should n-never have told him that I-I use to sleep with other g-guys."

She put her face miserably in her hands, the tears dripped between her fingers.

Annabeth's brain kicked in, though it wasn't exactly hard to figure what to do. "Apologise, don't shout at him. Just tell him you're sorry and if he doesn't accept that, then leave him."

"B-but what if he doesn't forgive me? I can't just _leave _him, he means everything to me," Silena fretted. Her eyes were big and nervous, full of despair.

"A true love would never let you go so easily," Annabeth stared firmly into her pale blue eyes. "If he can't forgive you, then he's not the guy you thought he was."

Silena sniffed and adjusted her hair. "Thanks Annabeth, I'll-"

The window suddenly burst open. Silena screamed as a cloaked figure jumped inside the chamber.

The person pulled down their hood, revealing Percy's handsome features that glowed slightly in the candle light.

"Percy!" Annabeth squealed angrily. "I'm in my nightgown!"

Percy smirked, putting his hands over his eyes but Annabeth could see him peeping through his fingers. "Sorry! Guess I shouldn't look then."

"Just _what are you doing here at midnight_?" Annabeth demanded; hiding herself under the bed covers.

Percy took his hands away from his face, suddenly serious. "I saw two shadows creeping along the battlements – they're heading this way now."

A chill seemed to fill the room making Annabeth shiver. "Annabeth, is that _Persues?_" Silena squeaked in awe.

"I prefer Percy, if you don't mind," Percy said, smiling at her, not really noticing the dried tear stains on her face.

"Although he doesn't have a proper name," Annabeth added helpfully. "So who are these people?"

"That's what I want to find out," Percy said, looking out the window again and then retreated back inside. "I don't know what they're doing, but they seem pretty suspicious."

"Can I follow as well?" Annabeth said, longing for an adventure.

"What about me?" Silena said in a small voice.

"You can join in the fun as well," Percy said, winking cheekily at her, making her cheeks flush red. Good thing that Beckendorf didn't see that...

"I need to get changed," Annabeth said.

Percy looked at her.

Annabeth sighed. "I would appreciate it if you didn't watch."

"What if I want to watch?" Percy asked innocently.

"Creep," Annabeth muttered. She lifted the covers off herself; luckily Percy had gone back to looking out the window.

Annabeth hurriedly pulled on some riding wear, since it was the only practical thing she had. There was no way she was going out in the wind wearing one of her many flimsy dresses.

"They're going past anytime soon," Percy said urgently.

"Ok – ok I'm ready," Annabeth hurried over to the window sill that looked out onto the battlements.

"Do we have to follow them?" Silena whined. She looked down at her elegant dress, which was damp from the tears.

"You don't have to," Percy said.

"But what about Ann-"

"Shh...They're going past," Percy put a finger to his lips. He checked outside again and then motioned them to follow him.

Annabeth jumped down from the window ledge onto the stone battlements of the castle, the wind whipped her hair around her face.

Silena looked out the window at them nervously, and then she hesitantly jumped down holding her billowing dress in the process.

They kept to the shadow of the wall, crouching down just like the elves in front of them. A tremor of excitement washed through Annabeth, her heart beat loudly in the silent slumber of night.

A narrow staircase led them down off the battlements and through some streets; the figures led them down the market street and into a posh well built area of Athane.

"They're going to Thalia's house," Annabeth whispered with confusion. Why were they going to Thalia's house?

Percy nodded, though his eyes were focused on the grand mansion they were sneaking towards. The two dark figures entered the gate at the start of the driveway and made their way up to the double doors of the mansion.

"Wait here," Percy commanded, stopping them at the large iron gates.

"What? We're coming as well," Annabeth retorted quietly, glaring at him.

"You can't use magic, your friend can keep you company here," His voice sounded firm and left no room for debate.

"So you just dragged us two down here for no reason?" Annabeth asked angrily, gesturing to Silena.

"It was your own free will," Percy muttered. "But I have to do this on my own, ok?"

Annabeth scowled, retreating back into the foliage. Percy smirked and clicked his fingers, vanishing into thin air.

* * *

The moment his body disappeared, he walked right through the gates as if they weren't there. Percy still couldn't believe that Annabeth _still _got angry at him – it was like she took every opportunity to make everything difficult. There was no way she is 'head over heels' as Rachel put it.

Pushing the thoughts aside, Percy ran hastily down the driveway, crunching the gravel as he went. Inside the mansion a new light flickered on in a room, he could see three men walk into it, in deep discussion.

Drawing up his energy he passed through the solid stone wall and into the large fire lit room.

Percy's eyes widened at the sight of the three men. The Duke and the King of Atlantia – he recognised the third beefy man as Annabeth's bodyguard. What was going on?

"- got ferick leaves? We need them for next week - urgently," The king of Atlantia was saying, in a hushed tone.

"No, they haven't arrived yet-" The duke said twisting a finger in his neatly trimmed beard.

"Why not? They should be here by now – do you want this to work or not?" The Kings' eyes smouldered with anger.

"Yes, of course I do -"

"Then get those ferick leaves delivered _quickly_. I want them here in before the Royal Banquet."

The duke nodded slowly, his eyebrows furrowing. "Ares' men are working hard – it's probably a three day journey back from the west coast."

The King nodded grimly. "They better have started their journey by now, then."

"They have – most likely they will be here in two days," the Duke replied hurriedly.

There was an awkward silence.

The king tilted his head upwards as if sensing something, his eyes flashed.

"Do you sense that?" he asked, though it sounded as if he were talking to himself.

The duke shook his head in confusion. "Sense what?"

The king paused again, his eyebrows scrunched together as if he were working out a puzzle. "In this room...there's something familiar about this room...something in this room...I can't put a finger on it..."

The duke shrugged.

Percy froze, holding his breath.

The Atlantian king shook his head. "Anyway, it doesn't matter; I hope you get those leaves soon enough or else..."

The duke gulped. He looked petrified of the tall imposing King.

He nodded hastily.

And all around them an evil lurked in the air.

* * *

**AN: Bonjourno mes amigos! Comment ca va? Thanks again for reading and stuff...sorry if everything is all boring now - but i've mainly been doing foreshadowing and stuff like that. :) I probably should start moving it faster now, not too much though cos the plot can get confusing , hopefull not though!**

**Anyone guessed what ferick leaves are? I don't know how obvious it is...although they are my made up invention!**

**So that's all for today, bonsoir! Revieeeeeeewww**


	18. Rebellion

She saw his pale blue eyes from across the courtyard; they stood out from the crowd, like gemstones in a rubbish heap. Triton stood on the opposite balcony that looked out over the huge square yard; Annabeth felt his eyes penetrating into hers.

She pulled her gaze away from him and stared down into the abnormally crowded courtyard. A circle in the middle was free of people, apart from one. He was chained to a post, though he wasn't struggling any more.

Tension brewed silently in the atmosphere, as the crowd muttered and tried to lean over other peoples shoulders. Annabeth stared down in curiosity at the man in the middle. His appearance was an elf in the mid twenties, but she knew that he was probably much older.

A parting suddenly split through the crowd, a slow drum beat started playing. The audience whispered nervously, some were crying. King Frederic walked steadily towards the centre, his face completely impassive.

He turned to the audience. "This, my lords and ladies, is the punishment for all major crimes – stealing, rebelling, raping, torturing and so on. This man here has been accused for _rape _and he will pay for it, with his life. Listen to this, citizens, I never give second chances. Once you've disobeyed any laws, your punishment is inevitable."

The crowd went drop dead silent, as if all of them were holding their breath.

"Any member of the royal family, over the age of sixteen, is permitted to strip the magic from an elf if for a good reason," her father carried on, his voice echoed throughout the dry stone walls.

His words made Annabeth stiffen in shock. When _she _was sixteen she could hand out punishments just like her father. The slight feeling of responsibility made her smile.

The king turned back to the elf in the middle, even from the balcony Annabeth saw his iris' dissolve into a pure black colour. The accused elf froze, as if time had stopped for him. He didn't blink, he didn't breath.

Suddenly beams of energy lit up the courtyard in a luminous yellow, the strands of energy streamed towards the Kings' outstretched hand.

And then she saw it. Like a snake creeping up someone's paralysed foot. The smooth stone that sneaked up his legs; up his chest; closing in on his head.

Someone in the crowd was crying uncontrollably as they watched the elf being locked in a cage of unbreakable rock.

The light died down, until only the morning sun lit up the dark courtyard.

Then suddenly from the stillness of the crowd there was an outbreak of noise, shouting screaming. Elves at the dozen were yelling, firing insults at the King. Some stood stationary, not sure what to make of it.

It was like a current fighting itself. The swipe of swords sounded all around, the noise level got louder and louder. Blasts of light were directed straight at her father, who deflected them all. A furious expression marred his face.

Those who were crying were now fighting the guards. They didn't care about the consequences of their actions. All they wanted was revenge.

Metal clanged into metal. Silver daggers slickly slid into stomachs. The whole place was in uproar. Annabeth saw her father trying to calm everyone down, whilst yelling threats to them. But the strength of the citizens was too much for him.

More and more people flooded in to the courtyard, attracted by the noise and combating. Elves were falling unconscious on the floor, but they were the guards, the nobles. The citizens smelt victory.

Footsteps were pounding towards Annabeth, a man was charging right at her his sword raised. Her bodyguard stepped into the fight. She had to stop this.

She didn't care what her father said.

Power coursed through her veins, this spell was the same as her first enchantment. But now, it was on a much larger scale.

With a cry, she released the raw energy.

This time the effects were immediate.

A tower exploded into chunks of debris and rock, falling down into the quad in slow motion. The citadel clock shattered to pieces, falling onto victims below. But there was no sound.

Nothing at all.

It was like she had slowed down time itself.

People started falling down to the ground, as if they were being pulled by weights. Their eyes rolled into their heads as they fell unconscious. Swords froze in mid air, slowly dropping down to the ground.

Her head was pounding; it felt as if someone was hammering on her skull.

Darkness started flooding the arena, as if the sun were fading from the sky. Storm clouds appeared overhead...this wasn't supposed to happen. Annabeth panicked, trying to stop the magic. But it kept going. The walls all around her were crumbling, cracks appeared in the floor beneath her feet.

She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Annabeth tried to run away from the eroding balcony, but it was like fighting a heavy tide of water.

Desperately, she pulled herself back into her chambers. The cracks were following her, quicker by the second. Her ceiling was falling down on her; furniture tumbled down from the rooms above. The floor split between her feet.

Her arms flailed as she fell, her mouth was open wide in horror.

The whole castle was crashing down in pieces on top of her. Planks of fractured wood were aimed towards her head. Annabeth screamed, but she couldn't hear herself, she couldn't hear anything.

Blackness enclosed her mind.

* * *

She didn't know how long had passed, or where she was.

Her eyes opened by themselves, but all she saw was blackness. Fear leaped into her heart, she couldn't see anything at all.

Not even her hands when she held them up in front of her face.

Her pulse pounded faster than she could count.

Annabeth tried walking, but her legs wouldn't obey her mind.

Out of nowhere something gripped her hand.

She screamed in terror, frantically trying to pull away. Her screams got louder as the grip held on tightly.

"Annabeth."

Annabeth choked back a shriek at the unfamiliar voice.

"G – Get...get off of me!" she clawed at the hand on her arm.

"Annabeth! It's me, your mother."

Nausea slammed into Annabeth. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. Her eyes widened, but she couldn't see anything in the darkness.

"M – My _mother_?" she whispered finally, tears were brimming in her eyes.

"Yes," the voice replied softly. "I'm your mother."

"NO! You can't be! Y-you lie!" Annabeth trembled.

"I give you my solemn oath, I am truly your mother," her voice was soft and soothing, but it was tinged with strange feeling of familiarity.

Annabeth breathed deeply.

"W – Where are you? Why haven't you been here for me?" Annabeth said in a small voice.

Pressure suddenly burst in her ears, she felt herself losing consciousness again.

"I'm so sorry Annabeth, I would be here for you if I could," her voice was getting quieter and quieter by each word. Annabeth's head suddenly seemed sluggish.

"ANNABETH!" someone else was screaming at her.

The grip tightened on her arm. "Get the diary, find the diary! Find Mr Brunner!"

"Where are you?" Annabeth cried out, before her mother's words drowned out and she knew nothing more.

* * *

"ANNABETH!"

She woke up screaming, until she realised where she was. It was her chambers, but everything was perfectly normal...no damage...no cracks in the floor.

Her hair was full of sweat and her throat felt raw for some reason.

Piper, her serving maid was crying down at her in relief.

"But...what about the execution? ...the castle crumbling? ...my m – mother?" A lump swelled up in her throat.

Piper wiped her eyes. "What do you mean? You've been sleeping way past noon – I tried waking you up, but you kept screaming and kicking...and crying..."

"So it was just a dream?" Did she really meet her mother?

"Just a dream," Piper confirmed.

* * *

_Ferick leaves._

Thalia paced around her room in Apollo's section of the dungeons, her mind on ferick leaves. She couldn't remember what they were...something about the name was familiar, but she couldn't think what.

_Ferick leaves._

It was something evil...she knew that, she was sure of it. Maybe Annabeth would know...

But Annabeth wasn't here right now, so that was no help.

Thalia pushed the door of her room and stepped into the large rectangular room that Apollo basically used for everything. Sleeping...eating...writing...potion making...

From across the room, a dark tinted book caught her attention. It was bound in an old leather casing; golden letters were scrawled on the side.

_Poisonous plants – by Demeter Gardner_

Demeter Gardner? That must be Katie's mother.

Thalia strode towards it, picking it up carefully. The pages were a slightly mottled brown, and felt like they would crumble at one touch.

She traced her finger down the contents, trying to find ferick leaves on the list.

Her eyes gleamed triumphantly at the list of contents.

_Ferick leaves – page 178_

Quickly, she flicked through the thin delicate pages. There! She found it.

A picture of a small heart shaped leaf was hand drawn in the book. It was painted a sickly shade of green, with a dark red rim. That drunkard she had met yesterday had said that the King of Atlantia had mentioned these...but why?

Her electric blue eyes scanned the beautifully written paragraphs.

_The most dangerous of all plants. The poison of the leaf is fatal for humans; however for elves it can strip their very soul from them. There is no cure for ferick leaves, but it is a rare occurrence to find one. More commonly found on the west coast of the mainland far away from civilization. _

Out of the blue, the answer hit her.

She gasped in shock.

The crateful of wine...the King of Atlantia...the royal banquet...ferick leaves. It all made sense. The king of Atlantia was signing the peace treaty on Annabeth's wedding day – but that day would never come. The King – Thalia should've known he was evil – he was planning to overthrow Athane.

But it was such a cowardly act...poisoning all the nobles, dukes, _royalty_, at the banquet that was in four days! The King obviously wanted to mix the ferick leaves into the wine that he had bought...no one would know it was poison they were drinking.

Her fists clenched in fury.

She had to act...now.

And to do that, she needed to journey to the west coast.

* * *

The horse sped down the open field, trampling the long wavy grass. Midges splattered into Thalia's face, but she kept galloping forwards.

Golden rays of the mid afternoon sun shone down upon her, the shadows around her were growing longer and longer.

She pushed her horse further, but it was slowing down from the exhaustion of running for an hour. Thalia gritted her teeth, as she trotted to a nearby well.

The dry stone well stood gloomily in the middle of the moor side. Ivy crept up the sides of the grey damp stone.

"Sssssssssssss..."

Thalia stared down into the cold well shaft with inquisitiveness.

"Sssssss...Sssss...Ssss..."

"Who's there?" Thalia pointed her sword down the well; she didn't care if it looked weird.

Bitter laughter thrummed from the bottom of the well. Thalia heard a trickling of water in the background.

"Who are you?" Thalia demanded.

The creature cackled again, she heard the sound of someone – or something climbing up the shaft.

Thalia backed away slowly, tugging her horse as she went, preparing to escape.

Ever so gradually something small and blue climbed over the top of the well.

He had skinny gnarled legs with matching long arms; his face was thin and gaunt as if he hadn't eaten in several decades. Sunken deep in his sharp features were narrow pure black eyes, they shone with menace and hunger.

"Who I am is not important to you...all that matters is 'who you are'."

Thalia pointed her sword at his chest; he stared down at it with a creepy expression. "Don't speak riddles to me – _what are you?_"

"So I'm a _thing_ to you?" he spat. "You elves are not the only creatures with souls. You all think that you're the best, that every other race is lesser than you -"

"You are a _thing,_" Thalia hissed, annoyed that this creature was shouting at her. "If you think you can judge a whole race without knowing them – then you're wrong."

"I already know enough about elves. I know how unjust your kings are – oh, yes! I've seen it with my own eyes, only fifteen years ago since the King of Athane made his first biggest mistake. Then I promise you one day the entire elfish nation will suffer for his crimes."

"Yeah, I think you better leave your fantasies in the well shaft. Like _you _can defeat even one elf."

The thing growled, his black eyes sparked. "I am more powerful than you think, elfling. I was created out of magic by the power of the oceans – created in the depths of the darkest seas! I am the essence of darkness."

Thalia laughed disbelievingly. "Oh yeah, and I'm the essence of light," she mimicked his voice.

The thing glared murderously at her. His fingers twitched.

"You don't believe me? Then let me show you my true power."

He smiled creepily and dissolved into a fine mist before her eyes.

* * *

**AN: hi! Hope you like this chapter, it's not as long but oh well! Tell me if you don't understand anything in the story cause it will get very confusing if I don't write it properly. **

**NOTE: percabeth is coming up in later chapters...**

**NOTE: I'm giving noooo spoilers...sorry. **

**Bonsoir**


	19. Rejection

**AN: Hi peoples! Bonjour! New chapter right now..its getting more teenage, so tell me if you liked it and i will update sometime later!**

* * *

Her back connected with the side of the building, a whoosh of air escaped her. Large hands pushed her shoulders to keep her from struggling.

Annabeth tried to cry out, but his hand muffled her screams.

She brought her knee up and tried hitting him like Thalia had always taught her. But Triton was stronger and filled with blood thirsty lust.

Fear trickled into her.

Annabeth tried to shove him away, but he caught her fist with little effort. His other hand was unbuckling his belt...

"Help – "

His hand clamped over her mouth.

Annabeth trembled, she wasn't ready for this. Was he really going to rape her in her own chambers? She caught sight of the balcony doors that were wide open.

Triton pulled the zip of her dress down, she felt his hands trying to take the sleeves off, but she continued to struggle.

Her forehead beaded with sweat and exhaustion, terror gripped her like a vice. There was no way she could escape.

Desperately she continued to resist.

Where was Percy when she needed him?

* * *

Thalia notched an arrow in her bow, aiming at the horses' head. A pang of guilt and remorse filled her as the arrow shot and met its target.

The dappled coloured horse stumbled and tripped. The cart it had been pulling tipped onto its side, the crates of leaves falling into the path.

_Whoosh._

The next horse tumbled down to the ground, embracing its death. Thalia felt like a murderer...but it had to be done.

_You all think that you're the best, that every other race is lesser than you. _The creature's words suddenly floated into her mind. At the time she had contradicted him, since her anger blinded her...but now, she felt like there was a slight truth to his words.

Thalia had just killed a horse, a living creature...two horses in fact.

_Then let me show you my true power. _What had he meant by that? He did absolutely nothing to her, maybe he was lying – though something told her it was true.

She shook the thoughts out of her head and dropped down from her branch on the tree. Elves surrounded her, their eyes burning with hatred.

"Let me destroy the ferick leaves you bring with you," Thalia told them, she always had to give her enemies a choice. "-or I'll destroy you along with them."

The men laughed cruelly. "You think that you can beat us? These ferick leaves are none of your business, little girl."

"Oh, really? I'm the daughter of the Duke of Athane – these leaves are going to be used to poison every noble in the royal banquet. I think it is my business," She unsheathed her sword.

"You're Zeus' kid?" one of them asked.

"Yeah," Thalia said in a tone that said '_duh_'

The men started muttering to each other.

Thalia tapped her foot impatiently. "So are you going to let me destroy the leaves then?"

A tall elf stepped forward. "No, but we'll let you go peacefully this time – and you don't tell anyone about this, ok?"

Thalia kicked him where it hurts.

"Kill her!" he yelled in agony.

"But she's Zeus' k-"

"Kill her!"

The men sprung at her, brandishing their swords. Thalia kicked the first one in the head, spinning round quick enough to stab another in their belly. She slashed across someone's cheek, making them cry for their mummy.

Her sword locked with another, but she had more strength and agility. She twisted it upwards sharply, sending his sword flying into a tree.

Sensing something behind her, she spun around blasting the attacker with a bright blue beam of energy.

With hardly any effort, she threw her dagger into someone's chest, making them howl in anguish and drop down to the ground. The smell of victory was in the air.

Suddenly there was a heavy blow at the back of her head; she tumbled to the ground in pain. Thalia struggled to stay conscious.

_Fire. _Was her last thought before she fell unconscious and the smell of burning filled her nostrils.

* * *

"-she destroyed every last one."

"What are we going to do with her?"

"Keep her hostage?"

"No, her father will kill us – though I bet he won't be around for much longer."

The voices laughed as if sharing an inside joke.

"Talking about killing, the king is going to be furious – if we made a trip back to the west coast then it will take another week to get back to Athane. The banquet will be over. We'll be dead. Literally."

The laughing stopped. "You're right. What do we do? Make a run for it?"

"Could do, take the girl with us. Although she can be a tricky one to handle..."

"Yeah."

"How about we escape to the sea? No one ever find us there."

The other elf sighed dramatically. "We don't even have a boat, idiot."

"Ok then...we could live in the sea."

"Shut up with the crazy ideas, there is no way I'm living in the sea stuck with fish for company."

"You've got me!"

"Like that's encouraging," the other one muttered not so subtly.

Thalia opened her eyes, to find herself tied onto the back of the wooden cart. The two surviving elves sat at the front, arguing loudly.

Her head still pounded from the blow, how could she have been so stupid to let them knock her out? It felt humiliating. Thalia Grace. One of the most feared warriors in Athane, being beaten by mere civilians. She looked to the left and was relieved to find the crates of ferick leaves burnt and destroyed.

A frayed piece of rope was tied around her wrists, she struggled to pull her hands out of it, though her skin grazed from the rough knots. Thalia's hands ached, frustration built up in her throat when she realised it wasn't working.

Slowly she sat up in the cart, careful not to make a noise, then she leaped out of the vehicle and ran into the tall pine trees.

"Hey! Come back!"

Thalia ran faster, wishing she could free her hands from their awkward position. She skidded in and out of the rocks, sliding through the squelching mud and up some stone steps.

She had no idea where she was going, but she stopped running abruptly as the path suddenly ended. Her foot knocked against a rock that went plummeting off the cliff face, into the dark ocean below.

The two elves ran up after her, their faces lit up in victory as they approached her slowly. She backed away from them, but she knew that any further would send her catapulting a thousand feet into the freezing cold waters.

"You think you can run away?" one of them sneered, his long hair was tied back in a pony tail – it kind of suited him...hmm...weird thoughts, wrong time.

"Yes," Thalia told him, if only she could untie her hands, then maybe she'd have a chance at winning.

The elves laughed mockingly at her. "I think it's time to teach the little duchess a lesson."

Oh, that was rich. _Little?_ She stood a head taller than them both.

The other elf cracked her knuckles, making her role her eyes. Couldn't they think of anything more original? The classic tough guys always loved knuckle cracking, most of the contestants did it in the Mellay. It was incredibly annoying.

They started advancing upon her, the tension rose with every step. In any other occasion, Thalia would've laughed in their attempt to look intimidating. But being approached by two vertically (and horizontally) challenged elves...that kind of ruined the atmosphere.

She looked behind her at the peaceful waves of the ocean...it didn't look so bad – apart from the fact that she was scared of heights. Yeah...the great Thalia Grace scared of heights. Or maybe it was the fear of falling – she hated the way her gut left her whenever she fell...now that was scary.

Thalia looked back at the elves, who had their dangerously pointed swords pointed at her chest. She took a slip second decision. Falling or being tortured? It was hard to decide.

She bit her lip, it was so far down...what if her head exploded from the impact? A nasty image entered her mind. Probably better to go feet first.

"So sorry to leave you at such short notice," she told them sweetly. Before her mind could stop her, she flung herself off the cliff.

Her only thought?

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

And then in a tremendous splash of white frothy bubbles she plunged into the ocean, deeper than she had ever gone before. The salty water entered her ears and mouth, her hair splayed around her head in the sea.

All of a sudden, there was a tug on her foot. Something cold wrapped around her ankle. She tried screaming but couldn't make a sound at the depths of the ocean. Claws dug into her skin making her wince in pain.

Violently, she tried turning around to see her attacked, maybe the elves had jumped in after her.

But instead, a hauntingly beautiful woman gazed ravenously back at her...but where her legs meant to be melded into a sleek dark green tail.

Thalia gasped. No. This could not be happening. She tried yanking her foot away, but the mermaid was dragging her away, her mouth opened to scream but she choked on the water.

Her head suddenly caught on rock on the seabed floor, spots danced before her eyes as she fell unconscious yet again.

* * *

Percy raced down towards the dead horses, pity welled up in his heart. Arrows stuck out of their heads, shot by someone with a very cold heart.

All around him was a complete tip, blackened crates were tipped on their sides all around him, and some had fallen apart completely. Whatever was in them were destroyed. Unconscious elves were scattered limply around the trees, like there had been a small battle here.

A love heart shaped leaf lay hidden between strands of burnt grass, Percy looked at it closer, picking it up gently as if it was going to explode any minute.

The leaf thrummed with vibrant energy in his hand. He pocketed it and gazed around him, noticing the empty wooden cart that sat still in the dirt road. Footprints were engraved in the mud to the side of the road, there had obviously been a chase here.

Percy sped off following the footprints, the cool air refreshed his mind. Up ahead, he saw two figures arguing with each other – maybe they were involved with the ferick leaf scandal. Probably, they seemed pretty angry about something.

He hid behind a tree, listening to their conversation.

"What the hell do we do now? Huh? We don't even have the girl and there's no way I'm jumping in that after her," one shouted, his ponytail swung behind his head.

"Well neither am I, there could be mermaids in there for all we know!"

The other one scoffed. "Mermaids? What next? Fire breathing Chihuahuas?"

"Whatever – so we've got nowhere to run – that girl still hasn't come to the surface yet, I bet she's been eaten alive by mermaids."

"Stop with your nonsense speak, it's getting really old-"

Percy stepped out from behind the tree, that girl they were talking about could be being eaten right now, for all he knew.

"Well look who it is," one of them sneered. "Persues Jackson from the Mellay."

Percy pointed his sword at them, his eyes piercing into their souls. "What girl are you talking about?"

The pony tailed elf looked resentfully at him. "Like we would tell you, peasant."

As soon as he had said it, he fell to the ground screaming in pain, clutching his head like his life depended on it.

"I'll ask again, what girl are you talking about?"

The elf silently screamed on the ground, tears streamed out his eyes. Percy stabbed his mind again, with hardly any effort. The elf yelled out torture.

"Stop, stop! It's Thalia Grace – daughter of Zeus! Please stop!"

Percy released his mind, though he still carried on whimpering like a child.

What was Thalia Grace doing here? Maybe she was involved with the poisoning at the banquet? But why would they be against her then?

He took once last glance at the two elves, quickly he cast a memory wipe spell on them both. The elf lying curled up on the floor fell asleep suddenly, his companion toppled over on top of him, snoring just as loudly.

Percy looked hesitantly at the sea from the edge of the cliff. If he completely submerged himself in the water...the girl might see his true form...and that might not be so good. On the other hand, it was better than being eaten by a blood thirsty mermaid.

He took a deep breath and neatly dived off the cliff, cutting through the air perfectly streamline as if he had been doing it his entire life. The water churned underneath him as if sensing his presence and then all at once he dropped down into the deep ocean.

Percy felt the change already happening, his legs started tingling and moulding into a powerful tail...his eyesight was sharper and his teeth were more pointed.

Without wasting a second, he flicked his tail, shooting towards the dark shapes across the sea floor. Corals and glowing anemones past him, shoals of fish swan across his path but he didn't slow down. If he wasn't in a hurry, he would have appreciated the beautiful scenery around him, but his eyes were entirely focused on the two figures in front of him.

A black haired girl lay unconscious by a pile of rocks, a mermaid leaned over her, her fangs bared and her claws aimed at her neck.

Before the mermaid could even touch the girl, Percy flung himself at her and they both flew through the water at the momentum.

The mermaid's dark green eyes stared at him in complete and utter shock. She narrowed her eyes in confusion at him.

"What are you?" she hissed at him. "You are not one of us."

"It doesn't matter what I am and I don't think you're going to be around long enough to find out," he shot a beam of blue light at the mermaid, sending her tumbling through the water.

She recovered quickly and sent back a powerful column of light, crackling with raw energy. He retaliated with a shield moulded out of magic and then lunged towards her, digging his claws into her flesh.

The mermaid growled in anger, throwing a wave of icy shards into his mind. He stopped them, but it slightly depleted his energy. He shot back a burning wall of fire into her mind, making her arms tremble from the pressure of holding it back.

She suddenly leaped forward, slashing her talons at his chest breaking the skin. Percy gritted his teeth, he felt poison entering his chest from the mermaid's claws. But it wasn't enough to kill him...unless it got infected.

The water around him stained red from his blood. Drawing up his energy he blasted the mermaid with a thick wave of pure force, she tried to dodge it but she was too slow. The mermaid tumbled backwards, her head crashing down on a pile of rocks on the seabed floor.

Percy swam closer, her figure was limp and unmoving. Though it could've been an act, but this time he didn't think it was.

For the first time in his life, he saw a different side to mermaids. The healthier side to them...a peaceful side.

The mermaid in front of him looked so serene and calm with her furious eyes shut, a gentle expression graced her beautiful features.

He couldn't bring himself to kill her, it felt wrong...like killing an innocent animal or child. Percy struggled to battle his heart and his mind. If he killed her now, that would be one less mermaid to go around killing elves...but even the thought of killing her made him feel like a murderer. She was, of course, one of his species.

Sighing, he swam away from her.

The girl who he had been saving was still unconscious thankfully, Percy looked at her closer. Wait...he knew her. The same girl he had brainwashed...she had been scary.

Tenderly, he picked her up and propelled them up to the surface. Blood still dripped from the three slash marks on his chest, but he tried to ignore it. There was nothing he could do about it now. Maybe when he got back to the training camp, he could find some bandages. Although usually mermaid wounds always healed up on their own, leaving no scar behind.

He swam up to the shore line, carrying the girl in his arms. Once he pulled himself out of the water, his tail shimmered and disappeared leaving not a trace of being in the sea. His hair was perfectly dry and his clothes appeared back on him.

Gently, Percy rested the girl behind a group of rocks so no one would be able to find her. He'd leave it to her to figure out what happened.

* * *

Annabeth sat on her bed, hugging her legs. It was late afternoon now, but she still hadn't moved from her bedroom. She felt stiff from sitting still for so long and her face was sticky from the earlier tears.

Her memories of this morning haunted her, making her feel small and insignificant. But most of all, she felt weak. Triton had literally forced himself upon her, she was too helpless and feeble...there was nothing she could do.

It wasn't like anyone actually cared though. If she told her father, he would scold her for being so pathetic. Thalia wasn't here to go to, she had abandoned Annabeth for a wild adventure with a hob-goblin. That definitely didn't feel comforting.

Percy flooded into her mind...he wasn't here to help her at all. He hadn't come to check on her all day, even though he usually did. She hugged her legs tighter and buried her face in her knees.

There was a knock on the door.

Annabeth weakly lifted her head up. "Come in," her voice was cracked and small.

The lock unlatched and a familiar boy stepped into the room, he smiled at her happily, not really picking up on the mood. Seaweed brain.

"Hey, Annabeth, you ok?" he sat down next to her on the bed.

She didn't reply, the words wouldn't come out of her throat.

"What's the matter?" Percy asked with concern.

Bitterness rose up in Annabeth. "Nothing happened, ok? Not like you'd care for me."

Percy's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "What did I do? I thought you said you weren't going to get angry."

"I'm _fine_," Annabeth half shouted at him, she didn't know where the anger had come from. But it felt good to let is loose. "I don't need you to always be here comforting me, I can look after myself."

"No you can't. Look, you're not 'fine' and I was only asking what the matter was!"

"I told you I'm fine," Annabeth retorted, glaring at him. "It's none of your business anyway."

Percy sighed. "We've already been through this, it is my business because I'm your friend, remember?"

"Friend," the word tasted strange in her mouth. "You could just be saying that, how do I know you're not? Huh?"

"I promised," Percy protested.

"Promises are made to be broken," Annabeth hissed.

Percy gripped her wrists. "No they're not, and I promised you that you can depend on me – and I'll always be here for you. I'm not going to break it."

"Then where were you this morning? Where were you when Triton found me alone, then?" tears threatened to spill over her cheeks.

Percy's face paled.

"Triton? Annabeth _what did he do to you_?"

Annabeth gulped. "I-It's o-ok, I should have known he was going to do it. P-please don't kill him."

"Annabeth_! He freaking raped you_," Annabeth flinched at his voice.

"So what? You can't just go and kill him because of that – he is my fiancé, he was going to do it anyway – either before or after the marriage."

"You can't seriously just let this go?" Percy asked in disbelief.

"Yes! And don't you _dare _say otherwise," she practically screamed at him, hysteria rose in her voice.

Percy shook his head, as if he couldn't believe she was saying this. "You're mad to let this go so soon."

"I don't want to make a fuss out of something so small," she retaliated.

"Then how come you've been sitting on your bed all day – obviously crying the entire time?"

Heat rose in Annabeth's face. "I haven't! And maybe if you had visited me sooner, you could have stopped him."

"Well, I'm sorry – but I can't always be around you every single second. Why didn't your bodyguard stop him?"

"I don't know! I haven't seen him at all today."

They were nose to nose now, her story grey eyes stared valiantly into his. She expected to see anger in them, but all that was there was concern. Pure concern. Her heat thumped softly again, gazing at his face made all her cares and worries leave her suddenly. The tension had vanished. Neither of them said a word.

Annabeth could smell his refreshing sea breeze scent, it felt like coming home.

Slowly she leant forward, closing her eyes. A spark racked through her as she felt his lips touch hers. A feeling of security and happiness destroyed every single bad emotion. His hands wrapped around her waist, as he deepened the kiss.

For a moment, she was in absolute bliss.

But suddenly the hands around her waist withdrew suddenly. Percy pulled away, not meeting her eyes.

She could hardly stop the tears from falling at the rejection.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, not looking at her. "I can't do this."

"Perc-"

"I'm sorry," he said, getting up off the bed. He took one last look at her and then fled from the room.

Annabeth stared after him, her moment of happiness destroyed. Pain tried to tear at her heart, and then she fell back on the bed...burying her face in the pillow. But no more tears came out, only a hollow tortured feeling inside her.


	20. The Monster Within

**AN: Bonjour! Thank you to all who has reviewed! I have absolutely LOVED writing this story - i've been working on my newest story Destroying Memories so check it out if you like lots of evil stuff. mwhahahahaha...hope you like this chapter! And review if you like it! sorry if its boring but it's kinda crucial to the story...**

* * *

Thalia woke up shivering; she was drenched head to foot with sea water. Her head ached like hell and she had no idea where she was.

The sun had fallen into the horizon and a thick cloud of darkness hung in the sky, the bright stars twinkled mischievously at her.

Slowly she got up, hugging her body trying to protect herself from the cold. The memories of yesterday seemed all jumbled.

Suddenly her eyes shot open.

There was a mermaid attack – she remembered now! They actually existed. The proof was staring smugly right at her, she would be a fool if she denied it. But how on earth did she survive it? Didn't she pass out? She thought that she should be dead right now...even just thinking about that made her breath stop in her throat.

She was so close to dying, it scared her.

The roar of the stormy ocean to the right of her was getting louder. Louder. Louder. Like the sea itself was having a civil war. Wind blew around her clothes, and the rain plummeted down in sheets.

Her eyes were half closed as she started running towards the forest, water droplets caught in her eyelashes and her hair.

Her teeth chattered painfully from the cold and rain, she took cover underneath a large beach tree, its many leaves protected her from most of the rain.

She breathed in and out deeply, regaining her breath. She still didn't understand how she had survived, though whatever the reason was, she was grateful. The trees looked familiar now – she knew that she had taken this path before. Up ahead, she could make out a broken cart lying battered in the weather.

Crates were scattered over the ground, blackened like the raging sky. Thalia smiled. She had accomplished what she had come to do. There was no trace of the ferick leaves, which must mean that they disintegrated in the fire she had used.

Thalia continued to run through the night air, through the storming skies and rocks full of moss and dirt. She found her horse, tied to a tree where she had left it. She felt bad for leaving it for so long.

Without wasting any time, she fumbled with the knot and climbed into the saddle. Quickly, they raced down a dirt path towards the sleeping city of Atlantia. Even at night time, sparkling green lights shone from turrets and windows. Its usual misty glow hung in the atmosphere thicker than normal.

Her hair was stuck to her head and hung down in knotted spikes, her fingers felt frozen on the reins of the horse. She cantered over the drawbridge and entered into the spacious lower citadel walls. People walked around as if it was still the morning, drunks stumbled out of an inn and a story teller was whispering menacingly in front of a burning fire to an engrossed audience.

Thalia received many stares from the nosy passersby; they stared at her in amusement and whispered to their friends excitedly. She ignored them and made her way into the higher citadel and took the horse back to the stables.

Quickly she ran down the rusty iron staircase into the dungeons, her shadow following her smoothly on the wall. The only source of light was the cold hue of the green fire that flickered in a dim hearth.

She looked down the corridor to the right of her; a cool breeze seemed to surround her. A strange sense of longing filled her. Shaking her head, she hurried back down to Apollo's chambers in the dungeons.

Her clothes stuck tightly to her body from the heavy rain, and her ears felt unaccustomed to the deep silence.

Pushing open the door she poked her head into the large room, it was completely dark and she could hear light snoring emanating from a chamber.

Thalia stepped forward, careful not to trip over any random object that threatened to make her fall. She hurried into her room and swiftly changed her clothes and then stuffed the soaking wet ones in a leather bag. Without making a sound, she flung all of her possessions that she had into it and hefted it over her shoulder.

"Thalia?"

She spun around suddenly, her sword already out of its sheath.

The person yelped and crashed backwards into a pile of test tubes. "Wait! It's me! Luke!"

Thalia narrowed her eyes at him, trying to see him in the darkness. He looked taller...his figure broad and sturdy...nothing like the Luke she knew.

"Really?" she said sarcastically, pointing her sword to his neck. She heard him gulp.

"Yes! Please don't hurt me!"

She sighed...yes, that was definitely the Luke she knew. No one else could have that petrified voice.

"Fine, in that case, pack up your stuff and we're going."

"What? But we won't even get to say goodbye to that nice physician!"

"It doesn't matter," she hissed at him sternly. "We've got more important things to do."

"But-"

"Let's go!" Thalia told him impatiently, grabbing his hand and half dragged him out of the door.

"But I've left my peppermint tea in my room!"

"No time for that!" Thalia insisted, shutting the dungeon door behind them.

She pulled him quickly down the dark maze of the dungeons, the still air whistled as they flew by.

"Where are we going?" Luke called over the echoing footsteps on the smooth cold tunnel floor.

"I'll explain later," Thalia replied, doubling in speed. It amused her that she was running faster than Luke.

She stopped suddenly at the large grey door that stared gloomily at her, something slammed into her, flattening her against the door, plunging them both inside.

"Luke!" she protested angrily, pushing him off her.

"Sorry! Sorry! You stopped too soon – what are we even doing here?"

Thalia blinked, trying to see him clearer. She still couldn't believe that this tall figure use to be a tiny little goblin...

"Why are you staring at me?" Luke asked nervously.

Thalia averted her eyes quickly and dragged him down into the large dungeon.

"What are you doing?"

She didn't reply. Instead she motioned her head towards the unconscious body on the ground. The woman was lying perfectly still, just as she had before.

"T-Thalia..." Luke seemed lost for words.

"We're rescuing her," Thalia said straight to the point, her eyes leaving no room to debate.

"T-Thalia..."

"What?" she snapped irritably.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"She's not an 'it'" Thalia said defensively. "She is a _person_ – and we _are _rescuing her, whether you like it or not."

"But it's a monster! A killer! When we save her, she'll go around killing more people!"

Thalia hesitated. He could be right...but she couldn't bring herself to leave this mermaid stranded on land, far away from home. It would plague her forever.

"It doesn't matter," Thalia said angrily. "If you don't want to help me, then fine. But I thought you were my friend."

"I am!" Luke replied, sounding shocked and hurt.

"Then help me."

Luke let out a shaky breath and lifted the mermaid up gently in his arms. Thalia watched in satisfaction and followed him out of the dungeon, carefully shutting the door behind them.

She sneaked along the cool tunnels and catacombs of the underground dungeons, the green fire light twirling on wooden torches. Luke walked in front of her, his body was lean and muscular and he stood over a head taller than her. That felt incredibly weird...and she still hadn't properly seen his face yet.

They ran smoothly up the iron stair case and out onto the mosaic encrusted floors of the castle.

"Stop," Thalia whispered, gesturing to the guards that stood at the entrance of the castle.

They froze in a small alcove, squished up together as the guards suddenly turned around their swords brandished.

"Who goes there?" an elf shouted, blindly waving his sword in all directions. He had black bushy eyebrows that were completely out of proportion to his face.

Thalia narrowed her eyes at the elf and hurled daggers from her mind into his. He screamed and tumbled to the ground, clutching his head and writhing in agony.

Next to her, Luke focused on the other elf, who was shouting insults into the darkness. Suddenly he shrieked like a girl and collapsed on the floor.

"Great. Now we've woken up the entire castle," Thalia muttered grimly.

"Atlantians never go to sleep," Luke said helpfully.

"Whatever, let's just go – follow me down to the stables."

Without waiting for him, she rushed out of the alcove and ran quickly to the royal stables. A fountain churned to the left of her as she saddled two dark brown horses.

Luke climbed on one, putting the unconscious mermaid in front of him, holding her securely.

"I still think this is a bad idea," he mumbled.

Thalia glared daggers at him and ignored his comment. She gracefully mounted her horse and cantered left through the quiet streets to the sea.

"Thalia!" Luke yelled at her from behind.

She turned around, trying to focus on him in the night air.

"What now?" she said impatiently.

"Soldiers!"

She froze, her eyes spotting the bright yellow torches in the distance. A group of ten soldiers were marching towards them.

"Go! They won't be able to catch up with us!" Thalia called, galloping rapidly down the cobbled path, almost hitting a drunk pedestrian in the middle of the road.

"Watch where yer goin'!"

She continued to gallop and jumped over a style, into a field full of thistles and weeds. She could hear Luke catching up with her, she took the chance to turn her head to look at him in the moonlight.

Her breathing hitched. He looked so unfamiliar...his eyes were a sparkling blue like a calm sea, he had tousled blond hair that suited him perfectly. And the other thing? He was undeniably handsome. That was just creepy.

Thalia shivered. He didn't look like Luke anymore, only his personality remained the same. Even then, she hoped it wouldn't ever change. She remembered the time when his expression had become...almost evil looking.

Sighing, she slowed down as they reached the sandy beaches that were full of dry seaweed and loose pebbles.

The tides moved rhythmically in and out. Slowly...slowly...slowly...

"What if the mermaid tries to kill us when we put her in the water?" Luke asked tentatively.

Thalia bit her lip, wondering what to say.

"We'll just have to hope she doesn't," the memory of the mermaid attack was suddenly fresh in her mind.

Luke nodded, his blue eyes worried. He got off his horse and tenderly carried the mermaid down the edge of the dark blue ocean.

The mermaids' eye flitted as if she could already sense the sea next to her. Thalia and Luke locked eyes with each other.

"Be prepared to run away," Thalia whispered, though she didn't know why.

Luke silently nodded...his hands trembled slightly at the thought of the oncoming attack.

"Ready?" Thalia asked, her heart beat unevenly.

"As always," he said, giving her a reassuring smile.

Carefully, he placed the mermaid into the ocean and ran back as a green glow surrounded the mermaid. Thalia watched from beside him, holding her breath, counting the seconds slowly in her head.

The mermaid still didn't move, though Thalia could see her legs changing and moulding together. A shimmering smooth seals tail transformed her whole body, her skin looked healthy and not as dry as before. Her chest rose and fell gently and evenly.

And then she opened her eyes.

* * *

"Lords and Ladies! Welcome to the fourth and final Mellay challenge – today will be the decider for the winner of the entire games! Remaining to play is the few twenty contestants out of the one hundred. All of them shall fight to the last man standing – there are no rules, just slaughter."

Annabeth downcast her eyes and stared at her feet. Thalia hadn't even returned from Atlantia yet, and she was beginning to think something was wrong.

"Contestants! Take your places!" her father bellowed into the hot afternoon arena.

A bead of perspiration dripped down her forehead from the heat. From the royal box she could see the twenty remaining contestants standing a wide circle with a twenty metre gap between each one.

She saw Percy out of all of them, avoiding her eyes. A pang of hurt washed into her, but she scolded her feelings. There was no way he could return them and she had promised herself to get over him. She didn't need him and he didn't need her. Simple as that.

The drums suddenly sounded and wild war cries filled the arena. It was like watching a complete massacre, every man for themselves. No rules, no regulations.

Blood soaked into the dry ground. Her hand flew to her mouth, to stop herself from being sick. Quickly she averted her eyes.

"You are so like your mother," the voice suddenly yanked her out of her thoughts.

Spinning her head round, she stared at her father. "What about my mother?"

Frederic's eyes hardened, his expression turned stern. "She always hated fighting, couldn't stand it. She loved the battle strategies...but the fighting itself...she couldn't bear it," his voice was quiet and distant. Annabeth felt a strange urge to give him a hug...though she didn't, since he had never given her a hug before.

"Where is she now?" Annabeth asked desperately. "Why isn't she here?"

Her father's jaw clenched, his eyes swirled with an unidentified emotion.

"She's dead."

Annabeth's lower lip trembled. No! That couldn't be right! Elves can't die, there must be some other reason.

"It was a mermaid attack," her father continued blandly. His tone said to drop the conversation.

She couldn't breathe, it felt like her stomach had just been taken out of her body and her heart trampled on multiple times.

"She meddled with things that weren't her business, and she paid the price."

Anger flared up in her. "How can you just say that?" her voice rose louder, trying to be heard over the roar of the spectators. "Don't you even _care_?"

She trembled in fury, she didn't understand how her father could be so heartless.

He met her stormy grey eyes, unwaveringly.

"I care," he said slowly. "-about my kingdom. The welfare of my people – and if anything disrupts the peace, they shall suffer the consequences."

"What are you even talking about?" Annabeth spat, her nose wrinkling in disgust.

Her father didn't reply, which annoyed her. He waited ten full seconds until he answered her.

"I suggest that you stay away from things that you know nothing of," his deep voice was cruel and commanding.

Annabeth shut her mouth, knowing that it would do no good to argue with him.

* * *

The sun glared down on his head as he battled through the streams of warriors. Hot thick crimson blood dripped down his shirt and arms from the wounds of the contestants.

The vile sounds of swords clashed painfully in the air, the war shouts had slowly turned into panting as the men sweated and brutally battered one another to unconsciousness.

He met an oncoming strike and battled with the elf for a few moments until he got bored and stabbed him in the gut. The wounded elf screamed and fell to the ground at his feet, his eyes rolling back into his head.

Suddenly, something pushed him from behind, making him stagger forwards. He felt something slip out of his pocket but there was no time to pick it up.

Percy quickly spun around and slashed with his golden dagger at the opponent's abdomen. A heavy steel sword blocked it though it shook from the pressure.

He looked up and met Prince Triton's pale fuming eyes.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" the crowd chanted in excitement, the roar of clapping thundered in his ears.

They circled each other warily and Percy realised that they were the only contestants left. Heracles lay unmoving on the ground, blood splattered his forehead and his armour was hanging loose, showing off some very unattractive arm pit hair.

"I'll show you that I will not be defeated by some _peasant hybrid."_

Percy stopped circling. His grip tightened on his sword.

"What did you say?" he replied forcefully, glaring right into Triton's eyes.

The arrogant Prince smirked and stopped to face him. The crowd around them were shouting at them to fight, but Percy ignored them.

"I _said_: peasant hybrid," Triton told him slowly as if he were speaking to a toddler.

Percy's eyes flashed.

"You can't hide yourself from me, Persues," Triton spat sinisterly. "I know who you really are – a monster."

The words hit him directly in his chest. But instead of feeling anger, he felt an unwanted feeling of understanding. He was a monster...Triton was right. He shouldn't even be in this competition – it now felt like he was cheating.

He had disgraced his name, too many people knew who he was. A monster. A monster...monster...monster...

"See?" Triton said smugly. "And monster's need to be destroyed. In case you haven't realised, I can kill you right now. It works both ways – Mermaids can kill you since you're half elf, but Elves can kill you since you're half mermaid."

Percy felt like the blood had drained from him, leaving him with an empty shell. He slowly backed away as Triton advanced on him. He couldn't bring himself to kill him.

"And you know what the best bit is?" Triton said casually, twirling his blade in his hands. "I can kill you but you can't kill me. A hybrid like you can't kill Elves, even though you can kill the hags of the sea. But I can kill you, since half of you is still vulnerable to this Elfish blade."

Percy looked around him desperately, there has to be a way out of this.

"Accept your death," Triton whispered. "You should be glad that I'm ridding the world of one less monster."

His footsteps drew closer and closer. Percy remained where he was, much to the pleasure of Triton. He prepared himself for the final blow...he deserved everything he got. He was a monster...he had known that all along, but never accepted it.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" the crowd screamed hysterically.

Percy stared one last time at the top box, his eyes met Annabeth's stormy grey ones. He remembered sitting with her on the bed...telling him tearily what Triton had done to her...

Anger stirred up inside of him, his eyes opened in a new light. As Triton's sword came down upon him effortlessly, he blindly threw his dagger in the air...meeting his target.

Cheering...clapping...booing...filled his ears. He felt like everything was underwater...everything in slow motion. His felt his head fall on the ground beneath him...someone was screaming his name...with such despair, such horror...

Poison from the deadly sword dripped into his heart...slowly dying...slowly...slowly...

Lights, bright lights he could see. Everyone was screaming...talking...shouting...

A flash of blonde hair...he felt something touch his hand.

And then his eyes closed peacefully.

* * *

**AN: Mwhahahahah, just killed off Percy - lol**

**Sorry if its short but i'm in a hurry - _still _got loads of homework, meh...**

**CLIFFHANGER! i hope its ok and everything, and yeah...I've already said this but...review! eek...that sounds really demanding...oh well! I'll write again as soon as possible!**


	21. From Death to Life

**AN: Hi! So many reviews for one chapter! :) So i've updated as fast as i can - there are sooo many line breaks in this. **

**To Beauchamp: Thanks for reviewing! btw, i needed Annabth to get raped cos it fits with the story in later chapters...said to much already! haha, and i'v finished my homework (yes!) well...for tomorrow anyway.**

**To Just Anny: about the mermaid...read this chapter! Thanks for reviewing again!**

**To verapaige01: Thanks for reviewing and Thluke may or may not come...mwhahahah. **

**To Silvermoonrise: I love your name! its so pretty! hope you like this chapter!**

**BIG thanks to prince of seas! who has been very consistant in reviewing, i think half of the reviews are by him...lol.**

**Hope you like this chapter! I really have made use of the line breaks, they're awesome!**

* * *

"There it is!" Luke yelled excitedly, standing up in his saddle. He pointed euphorically at a small peaceful village that was settled in the middle of a valley.

Thalia forced a smile for him, but she didn't meet his eyes when he turned to look at her. It had occurred to her that this may be the last time she saw him.

"You'll visit, won't you?" Luke asked, a beam stretched across his face. His blue eyes shone with happiness.

"Of course," though she wondered if she was ever going to find this remote village in the middle of nowhere again.

"Come on! I'll show you around, it hasn't changed at all – look! That's my house, over there – can you see it? The one next to the tavern."

"Oh, right...yeah," Thalia tried to say enthusiastically.

Luke didn't pick up on her mood and galloped away from her, through the entrance of the village. She quickly followed him, past the open wooden gates and into the bustling market place.

A few people stopped walking around and stared at them, particularly Luke.

A ginger haired boy ran up to him, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Luke! Is that really you? What the hell have you been doing? _It's been ten years!"_

Luke slid off the saddle and grinned widely at his friend. "Nice to see you too, Rohan."

Thalia jumped off her horse next to them, leaning casually on one leg, her expression was bored.

"This is no joke, Luke. The whole village thinks that you are dead! Your mother has taken it the worst," Rohan shook his head with annoyance. "Where have you been? You have no idea how much panic you have caused."

Luke raised his hands in defence. "Look, it wasn't my choice! I'll explain everything to you later."

"You better have a good reason," Rohan growled, staring murderously at Luke. "No sane person would leave the village on their own for ten years."

"I am sane!"

"That can be debated," Thalia muttered under her breath.

Rohan turned to look at her, as if only just noticing her for the first time. Well didn't she feel special.

"Who are you?" He asked suspiciously, sizing her up. He looked down at her with a sceptical expression.

Luke stepped in before she could say anything. "This is Thalia – she's a really good friend."

Rohan's eyebrow rose, his upper lip curled slightly. "Good friend, eh? What about your dear Madeline? _The one you left for ten years_."

"It's not like that," Luke protested. "We're only friends!"

Thalia mentally gagged at even the thought of being something more. She would never get the image of him as a goblin out of her mind.

"Sure, sure, and I kiss my friends all the time," Rohan said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Be careful when you meet your mother again, I wouldn't like to be you right now."

"What do you mean?" Luke said curiously.

Rohan smiled mischievously, that made Thalia instantly dislike him. "Why don't you go and find out?"

"Ok then...bye..." Luke looked at him warily and then gripped his horses' reins and started walking down the wide dusty street.

Thalia trailed after him, taking in the views of the scenic village. The landscape was breathtakingly stunning, the hills that surrounded the village were dotted with dark green trees and thick heather. Children played happily through the streets and danced to the light beat of a drummer.

"This way," Luke said, guiding his horse to a flower coated house, which was built out of wood and stone. "This is my home."

"It's beautiful," Thalia told him encouragingly.

"Thanks..." though his voice sounded small and his eyes were suddenly glazed.

He knocked twice on the door and waited, fidgeting with the hem of his tunic.

"My boy, my boy has come home!" someone was singing merrily behind the door, even though the person hadn't even seen who they were.

Luke tensed, almost as if he expected a monster to rip open the door and chew him to pieces. Not a pleasant thought...

The door was suddenly flung open, revealing a pretty blond haired woman that smiled sort of dementedly at them. Her mouth widened so far, Thalia thought the skin would break.

"Hermes!" she called back inside the house. "I told you he would come home, I told you!"

"Mother?" Luke said, uncertainly.

"Luke! My darling boy!" she engulfed him in a hug and kissed him on his cheek. "And who is this pretty little girl? Another girlfriend?"

Thalia stiffened, she loathed it when people called her little. "No, I'm just his friend," she told her politely.

"Of course! Come in both of you! I told him you would come back! I told him – see? I proved him wrong, he said that you would never come back – everyone said you were dead. But you're not!" she giggled hysterically, throwing her arm around Luke's shoulders.

Thalia frowned at them both as she shut the door behind them. Luke turned his head around, a look of doubt etched across his face.

"Help me," he mouthed silently.

Thalia smirked at him and stuffed her hands in her pockets.

"Sit down, sit down," Luke's mother gestured to the dusty seats in the living room, they looked like they hadn't been cleaned for at least five years. Even though a fire burned in the hearth, the room was unnaturally dark and cobwebs glistened in the window pane.

"See Hermes? I told you he would come back," she said excitedly.

Thalia shifted awkwardly on her chair. "Umm...who are you talking too?"

"Hermes! Luke's father," she replied, her eyes shining. Though there was no one else in the room, except for them. "Do you want cookies? Or brussel sprouts? I still have my garden full of them, just for you Luke...yes...Luke always loved brussel sprouts," her eyes went distant and she momentarily stopped speaking.

"Mother?" Luke looked downright terrified. "Are you ok?"

Her eyes suddenly flashed a blinding green. She jolted out of her chair, her eyes focused on her son.

"_Beware! Beware of the twists of fate! Our days are limited in this world...beware! Evil threatens to corrupt – you must stop it! Beware!" _

Luke screamed and fell out of his chair, banging his head on the floorboards. He backed away from his mother, his eyes wide with horror and fright.

All at once, her eyes returned to normal, she slowly sat back down in her seat.

"Where was I? Oh...Luke, what are you doing on the floor? Shall I get the cookies?"

Thalia nodded slowly, looking at her like she was a crazy person...which she was.

"I'll just go and get them," Luke's mother got up and hobbled out of the room.

Thalia stared down at Luke who was trembling on the floor, his eyes were glassy.

"Luke?"

No reply.

"Luke? Are you ok?"

Luke finally met her eyes, he hugged a cushion in his hands.

"She's gone mad," he whispered. "It's all my fault."

"No, of course it isn't," Thalia scolded him, helping him up off the floor. "You didn't have a choice in any of this."

"She's mad," Luke repeated, his voice quiet and broken.

Thalia sighed and gripped his hand reassuringly. She could tell just how damaged Luke had become after seeing his own Mother act like this.

"What am I going to do?" Luke asked hopelessly. "She's mad."

"Stay with her," Thalia said. "She'll get better...maybe you can help her remember who she really is."

* * *

"Let go of me!" Annabeth yelled over the roar of the crowd. "Get your hands off me."

"You can't go down there," her bodyguard told her roughly.

Annabeth threw a punch in her frustration, it was enough time to run away from him out of the royal box. The sane part of her mind was screaming at her to go back, but she drowned the thoughts out.

"Percy!" she screamed, trying to shout over the spectators.

"Get out the arena!" the medics tried to tell her as they rushed over to the two unmoving bodies.

"Annabeth! Get back here right now!" her father bellowed down at her, standing up in the royal box.

She ignored him and rushed down into the middle of the arena, not caring that the crowd was shouting and mocking her as she went on.

Why did she even bother? Percy was only wounded...it's not like he was dying. But something in her gut told her differently, she panicked as she ran over to him – would she make it in time?

She dropped down on her knees next to him, gripping his hand.

"Percy!" She gazed wildly at the servants that were coming to carry him off. "Hurry up!"

Percy's face was deathly pale, the pulse in his wrist was slowing down. Fear overloaded her senses, making her feel dizzy. No! He couldn't be dying, Elves couldn't die by sword wounds. But his pulse was definitely getting slower.

"Hurry up!" she urged the servants, who were now running over to them.

The crowd was cheering and booing at the same time, though they were not sure what to make of all of this.

"You shouldn't be here," they told her urgently.

"I don't care," she literally screamed at them. "Until you get him off the arena, I'm staying right where I am."

The servants nodded hurriedly and picked Percy up carrying him out of the arena. Annabeth watched in irritation, they were walking to slow.

She hurried after them, hoping that he would be alright. Her foot suddenly tripped over something metallic on the blood splattered ground.

Something gold caught her eye on the floor, she leant down and picked it up. It was a compass shaped object with a chain for hanging around someone's neck. Without thinking of the consequences, she absentmindedly put it over her head.

* * *

"So you're saying that you got kidnapped, turned into a goblin, got rescued by this girl and went to Atlantia to change back to an elf? And then somehow you found and rescued a mermaid."

"Uh...yeah..."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Yes, is that too hard to understand?"

Rohan stared at them both disbelievingly. "You believe what he just said?"

"Duh, I was with him," Thalia scowled at him. His attitude annoyed her, she didn't even know how Luke had made such an irritating friend.

"You're both crazy," Rohan said finally. He glared at Luke piercingly. "I bet you just went off and spent the last ten years enjoying yourself in rich cities, leaving your mother alone by herself."

"Shut up, you retard," Thalia hissed. "All that Luke has said is the truth and if you can't believe that for you own selfish reasons, you're dumber than you look."

"But it's stupid! How do you expect me to believe that? It's crazy!"

Luke's eyes flashed. "You don't have to believe me, just trust me, I wouldn't lie to you."

Rohan snorted. "Right...I'll just leave you to your fantasies, my trust for you left with you when you went away for ten years."

"I'm telling you the truth," Luke pleaded, his eyes opening wide. Thalia squeezed his hand.

"It's not worth it, some people are just too stubborn for their own good."

Rohan sneered at her, shadows casting an evil light to his face.

"Let's go," Thalia urged, bored with all the sitting down and talking to infuriating people.

Luke hesitated.

"Listen to your girlfriend," Rohan spat. "I don't want you and your lies back in my house again."

Luke abruptly got up and kicked the chair over, for good measure. He took Thalia's hand and they hurried out into the afternoon sun.

In front of them were a couple that were graphically snogging outside a baker's store, they mouths seemed to be eating each other's faces off. That. Is. Disgusting.

There is no way that Thalia would ever dream of doing that, wouldn't it be really unhygienic to kiss someone? What if they left saliva on your lips...ewww. Thalia cringed at the thought.

She turned over to Luke to say her final goodbye, but his gaze wasn't on her. Strangely, he was staring wide eyed at the couple ahead.

"Enjoying yourself?" Thalia asked irritably.

"Madeline..."

"Huh?"

Luke blinked back what looked like tears.

"Luke? What's going on?"

He hung his head, muttering things over and over. "...forgot...knew it...she...never should've...forgot..."

"Luke," Thalia said in a softer voice. "It's ok."

Her gaze flitted back to the couple in front of them. They hadn't even noticed them...

"Luke, I have to go back to Athane," she said gently, her heart breaking at the thought of leaving him.

All at once, Luke broke his trance. A sudden spark lit up in his eyes...she noticed one dominant emotion...desperation.

"You're going? So soon?" he sounded shocked.

Thalia nodded, feeling guilty. "I have to get there before it gets dark, my father will be wondering where I am."

Luke bit his lip slightly, he looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't.

"I'll miss you so much," Thalia added, hugging him.

"Me too."

They broke apart and Thalia climbed back onto her horse, picking up her bag of supplies with her.

"Thalia...I-I..." he trailed off.

"Yes?" she said curiously.

Luke lowered his gaze to the floor. "I just wanted to say..."

"Yes?"

He looked back up at her nervously. "It doesn't matter."

"You sure?"

Luke fidgeted on the spot, not meeting her eyes.

"Yeah," he finally said. "I'll miss you, Thalia."

* * *

The pounding in his head woke him up, his head was rested on a feather pillow...an experience that felt alien to him.

His chest burned underneath all the white bandages...red liquid was soaking into the fabric. Why wasn't he dead? The thought came to him instantly. He should be dead, he was supposed to be dead. After all, he was a monster...and monsters need to be killed.

"Percy," a soft voice floated into his ears. He tried moving his head, but it hurt at even the slightest movement.

He realised that nothing in his body could move at all, like he was completely paralysed.

"You're alive," a familiar face hovered over his, a cascade of blonde curls hung down upon him. Annabeth..It must be. There were tear marks on her usually flawless features, like she had been crying for many hours.

"Annabeth," he croaked hoarsely.

Why wasn't he dead? Why didn't Triton kill him properly, just like he wanted to.

"You almost died," Annabeth said, almost crying. "Your pulse was going down...it was _stopping_ Percy, _stopping_."

"How am I alive?" he managed to say.

Annabeth smiled at him tearfully, though he didn't know why she would cry for him. It's not like they were the best of friends.

"The physician managed to give you a potion to stop you from dying – it's was so terrifying, elves aren't supposed to die from sword wounds," her lips trembled from the fear.

Maybe I'm not fully elf, Percy wanted to tell her. But he couldn't bring himself to say it, he would lose her trust immediately. There was no way she would want to have anything to do with him after he told her everything.

"I guess I'm just special."

"Percy, I'm serious. You were _dying_."

He didn't reply. He couldn't tell her the truth, it would only hurt her.

"Percy...if there's anything you need to tell me, just say it," Annabeth pleaded.

"When will I be fully recovered?" Percy said changing the subject.

Annabeth sighed at the lack of information. "Elves usually heal fast, so maybe a day?"

_I heal faster than elves, though._ Percy thought bitterly, wishing now that he had just died so he wouldn't have to keep this secret from so many people.

"Good, then I can get out of here."

He wanted to get away...from all of this. He would go back to Rachel and then stay out of everyone's lives.

"Percy...about the...kiss..." Annabeth shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry," Percy blurted out. "I didn't mean it at all. It was all a mistake."

Annabeth suddenly stood up from her seat next to his bed. "Right, ok. I'm sorry as well."

Without saying anything more, she got up and left him. Percy wondered what had made her so upset...was it something he had said?

He mentally groaned. This wasn't what he had originally come for when he signed up for the Mellay...and he didn't like it one bit.

* * *

The dead frogs lay in front of her on the chopping board, all in height order. There insides and entrails were currently boiling away in a cauldron.

Rachel wondered whether the frog skin would make a nice decoration for her walls, it was a hard decision. She took her scalpel and slickly the each frog in half and laid them neatly in front of her. Hmmm...No, they would definitely ruin her precious walls.

Somehow, she could make a stew with them, Percy might like them. He always loved her stews. Rachel considered...Percy had visited her in a while, but he would need to since he had to collect more potions to stay completely elf. If he didn't drink the potion...

Rachel's lips quirked up in a smile. One less mouth to feed... of course he wouldn't die. He would just stop moving completely...like a coma – that's what humans sometimes get.

Yes...Humans...they seemed to be good to experiment on. They all were weak compared to elves, even the strong ones. It amused her in a way; maybe she should go down to the nearest village and search for some live specimens.

_Bang, bang, bang!_

Rachel turned slowly around to face the wooden door. Was that Percy? Or was it just another victim that had turned up at her door at such an untimely hour?

She sighed in exasperation; she wasn't ready to do any experimenting yet. All of her equipment needed a good clean and there was a lot of it.

_Bang! _

"Rachel!"

Rachel froze. She recognised that voice all too well...

What on earth was she doing here? Hadn't she died? Great...another hungry mouth to feed.

"Rachel! Let me in!"

She opened the door slowly, unemotionally.

A crying girl stumbled in; she was wearing her usual light dress that swished around her ankles in the evening wind.

"Rachel," she whispered, clinging onto her as if she were a life saver. Tears soaked into her simple brown dress.

"There, there," Rachel soothed, patting her back.

"I was so wrong..." she cried into her shoulder.

"Come inside," Rachel said comfortingly, shutting the door gently.

"I should've listened to you, Rachel..." she said curling up in a chair, hugging her knees.

Rachel shook her head vaguely. "You followed your heart, there's nothing wrong in that. At least you're back now...I've thought you were dead the last sixteen years."

The girl shot her head up in shock. "It's been sixteen years?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," Rachel confided gently. "But what about Calypso? Is she alive as well?"

The girl shook her head miserably. "The king of Athane killed her...she hadn't done anything wrong, he saw her diving into the ocean and when she came out again..." she trailed off; tears started forming in her eyes.

"I understand," Rachel watched her cry with a strange feeling of pity...an emotion she rarely encountered.

"It feels like yesterday when it all began...he took everything from me. My life...my friends...my child..."

"He's alive," Rachel said, though she wasn't sure if this was the best time to tell her.

"He's alive?" she said, a new gleam lit up her eyes. "Where is he? Can I see him?" she sounded so desperate.

"He's has been competing in a tournament in Athane...he hasn't been back here for over a week."

"Is he all right? He's really alive," she gave Rachel a teary smile, though her expression held a certain sadness to it.

"Whether he's alive now...I'm not sure. I probably should've warned him that Elfish blades are deadly to him..."

"What! He could be dead," she said panicking, getting up from her seat, forgetting her past troubles.

"He won't be. He's the best fighter the world has ever known."

"But even the greatest warriors can fall," the girl motioned to go out of the door.

"Remember to disguise yourself like I taught you before," Rachel instructed. She got up and gave her a small bottle of a glowing liquid. "Just like the old times."

She smiled back at her, and took the bottle from Rachel's hands.

"Thanks for everything Rachel."

Rachel nodded in response, silently trying to figure out where to go from now.

The girl opened the door and waved back at Rachel, a new sense of hope entering her eyes.

The wooden door shut with a slight bang, leaving Rachel alone with her cauldron of frog intestines. A feeling a dread filled her as she watched the mermaid out of the window. Danger was on its way...something dangerous...bad omens for the times ahead.

She shook her head; for once the future was unclear to her. Maybe the past had muddled her mind, or she hadn't been practicing soothsaying much.

Chills crept into her heart...the days suddenly seemed limited, though she wasn't sure why.

* * *

"Hey Leo," the black haired girl entered his room, her eyes were unusually dull. "How are you going?"

"I'm fine..." Leo mumbled, but his mind was on other things. Something familiar was nagging at the back of his mind...something was coming, he was sure of it.

He looked back up at the girl, her aura looked sort of marked...as if touched by a supernatural being.

"Omens," he said, though he wasn't sure if he was saying it out loud or in his head. "Omens...I hate them..."

"Uh...Leo?"

"Yes?"

Thalia stared at him with those piercing blue eyes, that kind of creeped him out. She seemed to be in a low mood today...not her usual infuriated mood...but a sad sort of mood.

"You don't seem happy today," he said, resting his head back on the pillow, staring up at the dark timbers on the ceiling.

Thalia looked down. "Said goodbye to Luke today...bad things are happening down where he is. His mother went a bit crazy from all the years he was away..."

It was Leo's fault and he knew it. But then, everyone has a story...a past. Even him.

"The past, Thalia," he told her, though he didn't care if she didn't listen. "Twisted fates that cannot be undone..."

"What are you talking about?" at least, that's what Leo thought she said.

"The past of the kingdom..."

"What about your past?"

Leo didn't respond.

"I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that," she said almost too quickly.

Leo chuckled, even though he didn't feel particularly happy. "My past...nothing special about my past..."

"Tell me," Thalia said gently, in a voice that made him feel safe. She had the same voice as – as...

"Calypso...she was called Calypso, I remember now," Leo said, but he was mainly talking to himself. "She was my friend...maybe more...but she died. She's dead. I saw it."

The girl didn't reply, but Leo didn't mind. It felt like a relief to say that to her. A great weight had been lifted off his shoulders, he smiled a small smile.

The seconds ticked on...one...two...three...

"Is there any way I can cure your mind?" Thalia asked quietly, almost as if she were scared of what he might say.

But that wasn't Leo's intention; he never did want to make people scared of him. He tried to remember the time when he was sane...normal. Just like everyone else.

"Just like everyone else..." Leo muttered. He wished that he could be normal again. But he couldn't...not now. Not ever. "You can't help me."

"Why not?" the girl seemed to be getting irritated, it made him feel slightly ashamed. "Don't you want to be cured? Don't you want to at least try?"

There was no way she could help him...there was no way that she could make him better. He didn't want to be better...even if he did; he'd just go back to how he was.

"It wouldn't work..."

"There must be a way," the girl stared down at him, her eyes were pleading.

Her face suddenly seemed to shift into a more recognisable one...caramel hair, a more slender looking face...she was suddenly smiling at him, and she was leaning in ever so slightly.

"No!" he scooted back from her, not wanting to see any more illusions.

"Leo? Are you ok," her face momentarily changed back to Thalia's.

"No more...no more..." he trembled, hiding his face from her.

"Leo," it was _her _voice again, in that sweet sing song voice...

"Calypso?" he asked, not wanting to see if she was actually there. He didn't want to be disappointed, just like all those other times.

"No Leo, I'm Thalia," but it still sounded like her voice...both their voices were the same.

"Bring her back," he told her, ignoring what she had just said. Somehow, he felt closer to sanity. "Bring her back...raise her from the dead. Otherwise, you might as well kill me."

"But I- I can't. It's not possible to bring the dead back to life."

Leo shook his head, she must be lying.

"The Anima Pendant, it can bring back the dead. It can't bring back elves...only other creatures and beings."

"So Calypso isn't an elf?" why was she speaking so quietly? He didn't understand anything right now.

"No," he answered, copying her tone of voice. "She was a mermaid. Once you find the pendant, call upon her spirit and it will come."

There was a heavy silence.

"Where shall I find the pendant?"

Leo shrugged. "It was lost many years ago...many say that it is a legend, but it does exist. A long time ago it belonged to a powerful human king, he was able to bring back his dead citizens...but there was a great war between him and the Kingdom of Athane. The pendant was lost, never to be seen again."

"Then I have no hope in finding it," Thalia sounded so miserable, so pitiful.

"But one chance out of a thousand, find it. That's all I ask. If you haven't found it in a month, let me reunite with Calypso once more."

* * *

The King stared up at his daughter's tutor in annoyance.

From time to time he had been pestering about many things, but the King refused to give in to such a lowly man. The things the tutor said were beyond preposterous and he remained stubborn.

The past was the past, he always told himself. And he wasn't going to forget that.

"You've got that look in your eyes again, my lord."

Frederic glared at the tutor in hatred. What right did he have to state these things to him?

"And what look might I have? Care to extend your sentences?" he told him icily, for he was not in the mood for mindless chatter.

"You're thinking about _her, _aren't you?"

"I told you not to mention her _ever again_," the king growled in fury. "She made her mistakes and I will not have people like that alive in my kingdom."

"You know that you don't mean that. You still love her, don't you?"

In any other situation, the king might have admired him for being so bold yet so foolish. But in this conversation it worked the other way.

"Sir Gary Brunner, you do understand the punishment for disobeying the king? This must be the hundredth time you've spoken to me about her, and I have been very merciful when it comes to second chances."

The tutor paled rapidly.

"Yes, my lord."

"So listen to me now, for I am giving you one chance only to redeem yourself. Never speak about her again, not to me, not to anyone. Unless of course; you wish to join my little army of statues, in this very room."

"Please forgive me, my lord," the tutor bowed down quickly.

"Now go, this council meeting is over. I have more important matters to attend to."

The nobles got up from around the table and hurriedly made their way out of the brightly lit grand hall, until nobody was left but him.

A lone man suddenly entered the room, passing the guards at the double doors respectfully.

"Michael, just on time," the King said, leaning back in his seat at the head of the table.

The physician sat next to the king, setting down his many books and loose parchment.

"Have you discovered the deaths of the two guards yet? It has been a mystery to us for too long," the king said, furrowing his eyebrows together in thought.

Michael looked up from his notes, his face was unnaturally yellow. Probably from the vile looking liquid that was in a cup next to him.

"I have concluded that it is partially the work of a mermaid, though my experiments show that the attacker was not a mermaid themselves. I do not know how this can be possible, but the results definitely show that a mermaid has tampered with this."

"Do you have any idea who the attacker was?"

Michael shook his head.

"I have no evidence to accuse anybody; the only option is to put hidden security guards in the courtyard, to spot the attacker."

The king nodded, though he still felt worried that this case was not fully resolved.

"And how are the victims? They are fully dead, not just in a coma?"

"Yes, they are completely dead. I cannot bring them back even if I tried."

This investigation felt like it was going nowhere, which infuriated the king immensely. There was only one other thing he needed to ask.

"And what of Prince Triton and the other contestant? How are they faring?"

"Prince Triton is almost fully recovered, but Persues...I don't understand what's happened to him. When he got hit by Triton's sword, his heart rate immediately started slowing down. He is still in my care now."

"He almost died?" asked the king in confusion. "Elves do not die from battle wounds."

"That's what I thought...unless he is something else..."

"Look into it, Michael. I want to know if he is truly what he seems," the king ordered. "And if he turns out to be anything else..."

"You will kill him?"

"Exactly."

* * *

**AN: So Percy didn't actually die...shame..**

**But then, i wouldn't kill off a main character in the middle of the story, that would be mean. **

**So did you like it? More drama should be coming up in the next few chapters...urghh this book is going to take forever to write, iv still got loads more to come.**

**Au revoir!**


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